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Whack-an-Author


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2006 Jun 21, 3:33am   32,831 views  280 comments

by Randy H   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  


Whack-a-mole

Here's your chance, have at it. The grumpiness level is rising. Longtime readers probably have sensed the subtle shift in discourse here at Patrick.net. We do have a lot more readers now, and this will only continue to grow as the correction proceeds. But us authors are also increasingly disagreeing over issues that before seemed minor, but now seem more fundamental. In the beginning it was easy: do you believe there is a real-estate bubble or not? But now debate is mired in details of sticky this, hard or soft that, or inflation/deflation the other.

So, take this opportunity to whack-the-authors. Let us know what each of the "on-air personalities" here does that annoys, disturbs or bores you. Is it Randy H's never ending econobabble? Or HARM's fundamentals fundamentalism? Maybe Peter P's metaphysical contrarianism? Surfer-X's descriptive suggestions to select commentors? Maybe even SQT's unshakable reasonableness pisses you off, or astrid's philosophical introspection. Perhaps it's just the daily digressions on sushi and kitchen knives...

If we can't laugh at ourselves then we'll never hope to improve upon the lot we've drawn. Consider it a roast. Help us to see ourselves as you see us. (Obviously, the definition of "Troll" will be a bit different for this thread. Feed surfer-X at your own risk.)

--Randy H

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143   tsusiat   2006 Jun 21, 2:42pm  

The weird thing is, now I can't stand Bryan Adams and like Supertramp...

But at the time, Cuts Like A Knife was soooo much cooler than the Logical Song.....

except to all the 40 somethings wandering around with their shades and Hawaiian Shirts trying to look cool....

Waitaminnit, don't I do that now...

144   Randy H   2006 Jun 21, 2:42pm  

When I was 18, I was going to see no names like the Femmes and The The. But back when i was 14 I saw Bon Jovi open for Ratt at Cincinnati Gardens. Bon Jovi got boo'd off the stage and had only one hit: "She's a Little Runaway".

145   tsusiat   2006 Jun 21, 2:47pm  

Actually,

I had the option of Queen, Scorpions, Van Halen or the Police within a week, but limited cash - at the time Another One Bites the Dust was BIIIGGGG, so I went to see Queen, but now I kinda wish I woulda gone and seen the Police...

Naw, Queen were good, I mean We Will Rock You was more of an anthem in the 70s because it was still REAL!

Not regurgitated boomer bromides for the fatstacks sportsbox sitting masses of moneyed minions, pretending to be involved in rebellions and rocking YOU! for 30 seconds every San Jose Sharks game...

hahahaha!

Those were the days...

146   tsusiat   2006 Jun 21, 2:53pm  

The only Bon Jovi song I ever liked was "Dead or Alive", otherwise, Mr Jovi can go back to Noo Joisey, regardless of the fact he recorded all his biggest hits in Vancouver, no loyalty or credibility from me.....

147   Randy H   2006 Jun 21, 2:55pm  

Ok, weirdest experience ever was a music festival at the Ohio Center in Columbus. Headliner was Neil Young, but one of the early openers was Skinny Puppy. They closed with "Tin Omen" and Niel closed with "Ohio". It was a rare moment of generational unity.

148   Different Sean   2006 Jun 21, 10:31pm  

time check

149   Different Sean   2006 Jun 21, 10:44pm  

a mere 17 hours ahead...

have supertramp ever gotten back together since the 80s? i played the 'paris' double album non-stop for a year in my adolescence ('84 i think), flipping the C90 cassette over and over until it wore out... i play keyboards, so got their sheet music and mastered quite a lot of the material...

the intervening 20 years seem a bit of a blur...

150   Different Sean   2006 Jun 21, 10:49pm  

except to all the 40 somethings wandering around with their shades and Hawaiian Shirts trying to look cool….

Waitaminnit, don’t I do that now…

magnum PI has a lot to answer for... style god of the 40 somethings...

151   Different Sean   2006 Jun 21, 10:56pm  

anyone want to start a Nostalgia thread?

152   DinOR   2006 Jun 21, 11:45pm  

Little Al,

I believe the correct quote is:

"Are you "not" entertained?"

Yes I am quite frankly and I'll give you a quick example.

When Enron was rockin' and rollin' they bought a little known utility company here in the Northwest. The shareholders had been in the stock for generations, nothing exciting by any measure but they paid and increased dividends w/regularity. Along comes Enron, converts the shares to rock and roll mode and all of a sudden shareholders (and employees) are talking early retirement. We all know the rest of the story. 50 something employees are decimated and now have nothing to retire on (they are starting over). Now they are looking for scapegoats where ever they can find them. These people worked for a really nice company, had steady paychecks with a comfortable retirement. They opted for rock and roll. Same-e same with the HB. It's not about hard working people taking "deep pork" it's about people that are all about short-cuts taking deep pork. God I love it!

153   DinOR   2006 Jun 21, 11:52pm  

DEEP PORK!

(and sideways no less!)

154   edvard   2006 Jun 21, 11:56pm  

Hey guys,
woah! 322 posts? Guess we like to beat the crap out of each other. Anyhow... this morning as I was on my way to work, I saw a logo out front of a small bank I've never noticed before. The name of the bank is Financial Banking. The logo is a big "FB"- I kid you not!
How terribly unfortunate! Thought you guys would get a kick out of that.

155   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 12:08am  

Surfer X,

I run into your "booze barn" episode w/regularity. It upsets Mrs. DinOR to no end but she's finally getting on board w/the program. How many times has this happened to you?

Sit down for dinner at a place (nothing special) and the waitress that said she would be "with you in moment" is having her time monopolized by some boomer f@ck couple analyzing the caloric content and chemical composition of each and every item on the menu! Hey a$$hole! This is freakin Applebee's O.K! "You know what Ms?" WE'RE ready to order! It's a skill that involves some degree of subtlety but a necessary skill none the less. Look, if your (lard ass) diet's requirements are that freakin special maybe eating out isn't for you! The idea here is that this is "casual" dining where we are being served together! Tipping "what you can afford" does not rate a personal staff O.K! It's 15% minimum for these kids or stay the f@ck home!

156   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 12:14am  

WW2,

FB's have their own bank? Yeah I heard their Mortgage Division is "Fantasyland Mortgage" where we say YES when those big name banks that write loans that have to make sense say NO! What was it? Their 30/60/Never Plan where you pay them back if you hit the lottery?

157   Michael Holliday   2006 Jun 22, 12:35am  

surfer-x Says:

"Dude, I worked at togos, I was the slicer."

Surfer, you're shitting me, man! I was the slicer too! We're brothers!

I still got the scar on my right Index finger from slicing myself
while cleaning that sharp-ass blade.

Remember slicing that packaged Pastrami for the #9 Hot Pastrami
sammiches?

Remember going into that cold-ass freezer to rotate the meats and cheeses?

My friend used to manage the one in Milpitas in the mid 80's.

158   Michael Holliday   2006 Jun 22, 12:44am  

Randy H Says:

"When I was 18, I was going to see no names like the Femmes and The T
The."

Haven't heard about The The in a while. I've got MIND BOMB, by The The.

159   edvard   2006 Jun 22, 12:48am  

Frify-
Doesn't matter. Realism tells you that the average house in California costs about 600k or more. I certainly don't have half a mil sitting around to spend. Perhaps if I had money running out of my ears, I'm sure I would agree with you that 800k buys more than last year. But I don't have 800k, so what's the diffrence?

160   edvard   2006 Jun 22, 12:56am  

Dinor,
Yesterday, I was going to lunch and a co worker had to stop in a US bank to get some cash. Anyhow, inside the bank was a pretty impressive model of a small house. We're talking complete with a real door, door knob, roof tiles, and siding. Looked like a full scale playhouse for kids. On the outside were lots of pamplets discussing the wonders of all the loans you can choose from so you can get into the "home of your dreams!"
Anyhow, on the chalkboard was written what the loan on a 200k house would be. This in downtown SF. What in the hell does that info do for someone thinking of buying in an area where the cheapest thing is around 800k?
Needless to say, I was impressed with their marketing skills.

161   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 1:05am  

WW2,

Seriously? In 2006 what is 200K going to buy you anywhere in this country! Btw, I was at Borders last night (Mrs. DinOR shopping) and they had a "anti coffee table" book. I think it was called "Worst Cities USA" or something like that? Anyway it was a great concept, instead of having flattering (and frankly questionable photos) of "dream places" to live this was a tribute to the LAST places you would want to live! For CA I think Modesto and Visalia made the list. These are places with NO entertainment, high crime, pollution and absolutely NO view! While I think it was creative idea and a great spin they MISSED so many dumps and just settled on the "un-remarkable". Still, good stuff!

162   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 1:24am  

LILLL,

Yeah we all worked fast food in school it seems and the real drag comes after you realize that you've tried everything on the menu and can smell that 5 gallon bucket of lard from the parking lot. My favorite part is when your hands are so water logged they feel wet even after you've toweled them off.

163   Different Sean   2006 Jun 22, 1:29am  

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Big One:

The southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles, which has not had a major rupture for more than 300 years, is under immense stress and could produce a massive earthquake, a new study said today.

http://tinyurl.com/lwmx6

might take some of the stickiness out of prices...

164   edvard   2006 Jun 22, 1:37am  

Resturaunt talk... Oh man.. I worked in this hole in the wall truck stop diner when I was in High school and early college. The place got to well over 100 degrees in the kitchen. I ran the meat slicer, which would cut your hand off if you wern'r careful. My worst experiences involved having to drag out a large wet vac, unbolt the top of this monsterous grease trap, and vaccum out a month's worth of grease. Disgusting!
To top it off, the people there were crazy. I would have to go up on a large ladder, place new letters on the sign outside, and the guys would sit there throwing leftover baked potatoes at me.

165   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 1:48am  

T Lynch,

Now that you mention it I think Natomas did get an "honorable mention". They covered a lot of Great Plains states with dead or near dead towns that had NOTHING to offer! Suprisingly there were no entries for Oregon. Huh? Trust me we have our share of dead end dumps. My brother got pulled over for a DUI in Molalla, OR and actually told the cop "If you can't get away with something in Molalla, where CAN you get away with it"!?

166   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 22, 1:50am  

>>Seriously? In 2006 what is 200K going to buy you anywhere in this country!

It's easy to say that on the west coast, but this country is pretty big, and there are a lot of places where $200,000 can buy a nice house on a nice lot. You may not want to live in those places. Maybe too rural, too slow, lame night life, not your kinda job, etc. I've lived in Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon and I'm one of those crazy people who actually like all those places.

Oregon is overpriced as hell (California impact, mostly). North Carolina is reasonable. Ohio is (mostly) cheap. All three states are beautiful (if you go to the right place). If you care about pizza, Ohio and North Carolina have good pizza with genuine Italians in the kitchens. Oregon has shitty pizza.

---

CNBC continues to have a lot of real estate pieces, probably for the sake of promoting their real estate survival guide tonight. Of note: Mention that KB Homes is cutting up to 20% off some new homes to move the inventory. I wonder if it'll be enough.

167   edvard   2006 Jun 22, 1:53am  

Michael,
We were referring to california. My brother bought his own place last year in TN for 38k, so yes- there's tons of homes for next to nothing- some in some decent areas to boot.

168   Randy H   2006 Jun 22, 1:53am  

I skipped the whole fast-food/waiter jobs right of passage. After a few summers working farm jobs I discovered that knowing how to operate and program computers allowed me a chair and air conditioning at work. I went from pulling thistle out of raspberry rows to setting up computerized stuff at the local library and never looked back.

169   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 22, 1:56am  

>>My brother bought his own place last year in TN for 38k,

Wow. It's nice that there are still places where people can buy a house without an option-ARM.

170   Michael Holliday   2006 Jun 22, 1:59am  

LILLL Says:

"I worked at Togos too! Only it was in Chico…and it was the only way I could eat while in college. One sandwich a day!."

Exactly! If you bought a large...I think it was #26...It was like baloney, ham cheese or whatever...then you could get two meals out of it for like $3.59.

171   edvard   2006 Jun 22, 2:08am  

Micheal,
Welll. His place certainly isn't paradise. Tiny little place with 3 little bedrooms. The house is made out of painted cinderblocks and old shingles. But the 80 year old neighbor comes over all the time and mows his yard because it gives him something to do.

172   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 2:25am  

Michael Anderson,

True, I may have worded that awkwardly. There are still plenty of areas where 200K means something, and you're right! Oregonians have always believed that OR is at least as pretty as CA so why not charge CA prices? Well......... b/c we get paid about 1/3 to 1/2 as much? Ya think?

Aside from that, yesterday was the first official day of summer. And guess what? We had our first nice day! Last nice day (from start to finish)? Early September, that's worth paying CA prices isn't it?

173   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 22, 2:42am  

DinOR,

I don't see how, in the long term, Oregon can maintain the prices of the last two years. I buy that Californians will continue to come, but I don't buy that Bend, Ashland, Medford, Redmond, etc. can get away with prices anywhere near California prices.

I think a lot of growth in those cities was predicated on them being bargains. If they aren't bargains, they'll draw a much smaller stream.

What say you?

174   Joe Schmoe   2006 Jun 22, 2:52am  

Wendy's in the house!

Mayonaisse
Ketchup
Pickle
Onion
Tomato
Lettuce
Mustard

(the ingredients on a Single with Cheese)

175   KurtS   2006 Jun 22, 3:05am  

Who else here, after working fast-food as a teen, won't trust kids to make their food anymore? I won't touch hamburgers now unless they're made in a restaurant. Yeah, it's a rite of passage. Then you wash off all that grease and move on.

176   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 3:15am  

Scott,

You had the good fortune to be here on Mother's Day (and one day in March)! We took Mrs. DinOR to Lincoln City and yes it was quite nice that day I recall. We also always have at least one nice day in Feb. as well. Now that both kids are out of HS we no longer have to schedule our breaks around their's and believe I won't.

177   Peter P   2006 Jun 22, 3:18am  

Who else here, after working fast-food as a teen, won’t trust kids to make their food anymore??

I do not trust kids to do anything. I made it a rule that I do not look inside restaurant kitchens. What I do not see is not happening.

I won’t touch hamburgers now unless they’re made in a restaurant.

It is difficult to have a good hamburger. It should be medium to medium-well, but you can have it less than well-done only if it is _freshly_ grinded from a piece of steak in a clean grinder.

Hamburgers should be held to the same standard as steak tartar.

178   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 3:25am  

Michael Anderson,

Your knowledge of our geography (and markets) is pretty impressive! To answer your question in a word, no. We can not continue on this path regardless of what transpires in CA. In addition to no longer being a bargain many of our city councils have already "run amok". In Bend NIMBYism is already banning alcohol (in all forms) on the river as it passes through town. This has been a long time trad. in Bend for young adults on floats and inner tubes. Only one councilman stood up. The rest appeased the wealthy homeowners on along the river. My guess is that they figured by banning alcohol the tradition would die and they would have the river to themselves. As far as I know, it's working.

179   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 22, 3:30am  

>>Your knowledge of our geography (and markets) is pretty impressive!

I'll tell you why. After owning in Eugene for 14 years, I sold in November. Felt very "toppy" to me. Since then I have been paying very close attention to the Oregon RE markets. I now rent in Bend. For about 1/3 what a reasonable mortgage would be. Situation seems unsustainable.

All of the sudden we have an explosion of inventory, but no one seems to want to notice.

180   DinOR   2006 Jun 22, 3:32am  

SP,

The only point that I was trying to make was with the LEGACY of lawlessness Molalla, OR enjoys who would know and who would care! It's a defunct logging town that died in the late 70's whose primary "export" is now drugs. Hell, people came out from Portland to score dope! It's getting better but for years it struggled with a real negative image. I do not advocate drinking and driving b/c it gives drinking a bad name.

181   KurtS   2006 Jun 22, 3:34am  

In Bend NIMBYism is already banning alcohol (in all forms) on the river as it passes through town. The rest appeased the wealthy homeowners on along the river.

I'm guessing the next step are "quiet zones," forcing river-goers to whisper as they pass by properties--as they've done in CA gold country.

182   MichaelAnderson   2006 Jun 22, 3:36am  

Alcohol was not banned until we had a drinking death on the river. But you're probably right; I'm sure the homeowners saw that as an opportunity to shut down the fun.

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