patrick.net

astrid,

That's a good point! I got the idea from my wife's aunt. She would stop by the old Regina Vacuum Cleaner plant and load her up with vacuums that were being returned for the silliest reasons. She cleaned them up, replaced a belt (real technical!) and repackaged it for re-sale as a "blem" or (factory re-conditioned). She never got rich by any means but she had money for grand kids ice cream and bingo on Friday night. It was basically a "cottage industry". The reason it could potentially work (and really it's more about being occupied than anything) is that with drive toward doing away with benefits anyway these folks would be just doing it at their own pace sans health insurance, workers comp. etc.

WW2,

Uh........., gotta kind of agree? If you're golfing w/folks like me you'd probably have a pretty good time. It goes something like this:

18 holes? Check!

18 golf balls? (Figure on losing one per hole) Check!

18 beers? Oh yeah.

Now on the other hand if you go with people that are serious about the thing and actually try to "improve" their game and get frustrated (and then silently smolder) no, it's not fun. I have a friend that lives in Austin and sometimes even when playing nine he'll pull off to the side, drink a few beers and let others play through. Uh, I don't think that would happen at the Peninsula Club!

Ha Ha,

Even after Ferdinand Marcos was DEAD he got 4% of the vote so I guess it just goes to show you that some people will agree to anything!

SQT,

Thanks! Golf is a GAME. It is supposed to be played for FUN. No one is getting PAID here.

Hey, WW2

Playing horse shoes was a really big deal when I was younger. Is that still a big thing in TN? Austin? Talk about inexpensive fun! My dad was like the VFW champ. I mean it had to be invented by drunk blacksmiths b/c the score only goes up to 21, right?

Worried about 4% of people disagreeing with the verdict ? Must be some crackpots. 4% is nothing in such polls.

What I really wonder about is a LOT of people are still buying homes ! I mean what are THEY thinking ? It's amazing how far behind folks are on the information curve.

On a positive side. Cupertino. That last bastion of BA bubble is showing signs of cracking. Inventory has finally jumped over 100 and has stayed above for some time now. Went to a few open houses. Pretty quiet. Agents are willing to talk. One even admitted that business has slowed down. One has been leaving voice mails every day on my answering machine now.

If Cupertino falters, the psychological damage it would cause would be tremendous.

“I am wondering who are this 4% people — what are they thinking??”

Their friends and families? Their defense attorney? The "oops, I'm dyslexic and I can't tell yes from no" people?

DinOR,

Seriously, I can see a business for this sort of work space, even without moving to Mexico. You can buy a couple re-po McMansions in a retirement community and retool it as an "active adult" center. I bet lots of older people who move to smaller house/condos really miss the workshop/craft space. This is a way to help them feel productive and maybe even help them earn a couple bucks.

TBAONBA,

Funny you should mention that. David Lerah was being interviewed by Kathleen Hayes today and he had the most mealy mouthed, meandering conflicted explanation as to why this is a "soft landing" it just wasn't funny! Kathleen, who's normally very polite and upbeat had this look on her face that was priceless. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it but I imagine it was the look we have when a drunk asks us for directions. Kind of suprised, obviously repulsed yet not ready to abandon our composure?

Ha Ha,

As long as you do it in California, you're pretty much powerless no matter how you vote.

Let me be clear — I do not like GW but I will vote for REPUBLICAN party as long as DEMOCRATIC party supports ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION…

I can relate to this. Most of the Democratic officeholders in CA are the worst kind of smug, entitlement-promoting, race-baiting uber-Liberals. I tend to vote either third party or for moderate Republicans.

HARM,

Call them everything else, but don't call them liberals. That's desecrating the term "liberal".

Though I'd add that California Republicans are really no better. They exude just as much smugness, they are just as much into entitlement promotion, they do just as much race baiting...they just speak to a slightly different audience, that's all.

Well, I feel obligated to be a team player and point out that 45% of Californians voted for GW in 2004. I myself canvassed and registered voters for months prior to election day. There was a big turnout effort on election day, too, my wife drove a couple of old ladies to the polls.

Interestingly, the Prez got 20% of the black vote in CA. Tha'ts an interesting little-known statistic. Our local GOP office did a lot of outreach the the black section of Pasadena, I was up there for like three weekends in a row. Everyone we met was very polite and cordial; in the rich, white section of town we took a ton of abuse from rich libs; lots of shouted obscenities, rude gestures, and even a couple of physically belligerent people. Everyone was nice in the black neighborhoods, though.

astrid,

Exactly! And just because a senior starts the overhaul of a garbage disposal doesn't mean they have to be the one to finish it. This happens in the traditional work world everyday. WW2, help me out on this. How many times have you seen product returned b/c somebody thought they could install a pocket door privacy latch and returned it? Prdt. returns hamper retailers bottom lines everyday. Most of it is the consumers fault (like Randy H's high school job compacting "defective" boom boxes). Hey! Mr. Consumer! Batteries have a positive pole and a negative pole! When people get frustrated they just return things until they finally figure it out. If nothing else vendors can "re-coup" a portion of their expense by sending this product through the Odd/Big Lot distribution chain.

Haha writes:

I will vote for REPUBLICAN party as long as DEMOCRATIC party supports ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

and

Cupertino = INDIAN + CHINES - WHITE = GHETTO

Sounds like you don't like immigration of any sort. New moniker suggestion: KaKaKa

DinOR,

Yup. That's definitely something that a cheaper dollar will help accomplish. Maybe people will start repairing things once the repair bills are not 2X the cost of a brand new replacement.

HARM & HAHA;

The easiest way to deal with the problem is to crack down on the businesses hiring them. Remove the economic incentive, and the problem goes away. Of course, a business-friendly <troll>or is that 'owned'?</troll> party would never do such a thing. For me, immigration is not an issue that decides how I vote, since IMHO both sides are being intensively hypocritical about the issue.

FWIW, I agree about the "entitlement-promoting" and "race-baiting". The sooner they are excised from the party, the better.

Sorry.

Anyone want to describe the perfect fast food?

Anyone want to describe the perfect fast food?

How about the perfect instant ramen noodle?

astrid,

Right again! I would hate for a service model such as this to ever be misconstrued as some sort of sweat shop for seniors! As long as they have the dexterity to disassemble, inspect and re-assemble household products they should at least have the option to do so. If you don't feel up to working that day, don't work! No big.

Oh, and the 4%? Gods, it only reminds me of how many people run around with only the barest cognitive ability needed to keep breathing. I'd almost want to require a critical thinking and abstract reasoning test for voting, except for all the moral issues that would create.

Umm.. my perfect house would feature some sort of tower, some sort of basement, be reasonably close to a coast that doesn't have "storm issues", have at least one guest room, a large project room with library tables for my hobbies, and a kitchen big enough to cook in w/out feeling cramped.

I generally dislike Both parties, especially after the last election. I also hate liberal politics but started reading third and independent party web sites and frankly, I'd feel better about some of these guys running the country over who's doing it now- both democratic and republican. The BIG diffrence between third party and the primary partys is that they say what they want and exactly what problems they think exsist, and how to fix them regardless of what controlling business and congressional influence might hold over the issue. Both democrats and republicans play the fiddle the same way but to their chosen groups of people, thus that's why partisism exsists the way it does now.

@Red Whine, I sense much anger in you, this is good. Key points to remember, it is $anta Barbara, not Santa Barbara. If you live here you should remind yourself each and every day how freaking lucky you are to just be in the same area code as Gene Montesano, all one really needs to know about boomers and their creed can be summed up by reading tinyurl.com/hxd7h Just think about it Mr. Whine, you get to breath the same air as Gene, your turds go into the same sewer as Gene's. Hmmm on second thought Gene has a wiping crew that disposes of his glorious droppings by gilding and reselling at the local LuckyBrand store.

Carry on my friend, good work, may you live to lick a boomer toliet another day.

Peter P,

The original Nissin chicken flavored ramen is very very good. The noodles taste perfect straight out of the package and it makes a very good ramen.

Nong Shim kimchi flavored ramen is quite good and a pretty major component of my diet. It's fried in palm oil, which is far from ideal, but at least it's not fried in hydrogenated shortening.

I hope someone can push for a constitutional amendment that outlaws animal rights legislations? It is getting silly. Soon we will all be forced into becoming vegans.

The original Nissin chicken flavored ramen is very very good. The noodles taste perfect straight out of the package and it makes a very good ramen.

You are right. I like their seafood cup noodle. The chicken is very good also.

I think PETA is just a Republican ploy to get people to vote against Democrats.

The cup noodles are pretty good, but the original package ramens were ethereal. I haven't had them for 14 years and I don't know if they even produce them anymore, but they were incredibly good.

Nong Shim kimchi flavored ramen is quite good and a pretty major component of my diet. It’s fried in palm oil, which is far from ideal, but at least it’s not fried in hydrogenated shortening.

I like that too. Usually with a raw egg.

Palm oil is bad for you. Look for non-fried versions.

Foie Gras = UNUSUAL CRUELTY ON DUCKS

Denying people Foie Gras = UNUSUAL CRUELTY ON PEOPLE

"Foie Gras = UNUSUAL CRUELTY ON DUCKS"

Animals have three functions:

To purr or bark appreciatively and catch pesty squirrels

To wear well

To taste good

Besides, have you ever had to deal with a flock of Canadian geese or pidgeons in your backyard? Those things make hideous noises and coat everything with their turd. You think they wouldn't stuff corn meal down your throat and fatten you up for Christmas, if they could?

You think they wouldn’t stuff corn meal down your throat and fatten you up for Christmas, if they could?

Exactly. Food does not have rights.

Are there non-fried versions of Nong Shim? I had non-fried versions of other ramen and they were mediocre to poor.

Those Nong Shim noodles are pretty good. They even come in duck flavor, my favorite.

Are there non-fried versions of Nong Shim? I had non-fried versions of other ramen and they were mediocre to poor.

There are non-fried versions of taiwanese ramen. They have pretty good texture. But it really depends on your taste, since they do taste different.

I miss duck...and geese...and squab. This country is not a dark poultry meat friendly place.

You can have duck and squab here.

BTW, anybody here had guinea pig?

BTW, anybody here had guinea pig?

I am more interested in suckling pigs.

Not very easily. In China, I could go to a neighborhood roast meats place and buy duck almost as easily as I buy chicken. But duck meat is pretty expensive and require going to restaurants or to Chinatown. And I don't think I've encountered squab at all.