Not me

So I did something last night that is so not me. I went on a spurt of the moment "date". It was an interesting experience. So this is what I been missing for so long. Granted it was a very strange night but it did teach me a couple of things.

• The world will not collapse if I just go off and do stuff.
  
• Not expecting or judging is real nice.
  
• I should be glad where I am right now.
  
• I am a normal guy, more or less, and women will react to me as such.

That lst one is real important. I definitely don't believe it most of the time. No women will never hit on me but that doesnt mean nobody finds me attractive. after all, I have to be somebody's fetish.

The die is cast

Actually, it was cast last night. I have to sack up and not sweat these things. Now the waiting starts. And as Tom Petty said: the waaaaiiitting is the hardest part


BTW, this is my 100th post. weird.

The fork was the final straw

This is a personal post. I need to write some things down. Read it if you want but it really isn't of interest to anyone.

I have been real stressed for some reason. My sleep patterns are off and I have no desire to do things (yet I am doing more lately than I have in the last few months).

I think it is work. Maybe. It hasn't been going well lately but really it isn't that bad and I care a lot less than I use to. It never really got to me before. So I don't know. This is the first year I won't have excelled. I have become that jaded guy we all looked at when we were new. 7 years. I am tired of the bullshit. I think life would be a lot better if a lawyer was honest just once. One time.

My personal life has been for shit (like normal). I am still a fucking wuss. And should just do it and get it over with. I am scared though. I guess I feel this is sort of a last chance. That final threshold. It isn't (I hope) but it sure as hell feels that way. I think that may be with the age thing. At this point, I'm half dead. What do I offer? She is 24. She can find someone else her age to go do things. I am suppose to be past that point. And I sound like fucking HP. That is so wrong. Tomorrow, I do it tomorrow. I need a "do you want to be HP?" post-it on my monitor.

I'm sure someone examining my life would think I'm depressed. But I seen real depression and I don't act anything like that. Not even close. In a way, it is true. I have some things that seem like depression symptoms. But I have been this way as long as I can remember. It is how I am. What has happened lately (the new stuff) isn't though.

And to top it all off, a fork just attacked my foot.

I want a do over. I won't get one though.

Tax Inquiry Is Moving Past KPMG

Tax Inquiry Is Moving Past KPMG - New York Times: "Ever since the accounting firm KPMG reached a $456 million settlement of a federal investigation into abusive tax shelters nearly three weeks ago, the question has been who may be next."

Looks like I was wrong. Maybe. I will hold judgement until they actually do something else.

Sounds like we are all agreed then

Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: "Those who analyzed or forecast the U.S. domestic macroeconomy agreed that a steep decline in the value of the dollar sometime in the next five years was overwhelmingly likely... those who analyzed or forecast the international economy as a whole were typically terrified by the prospect of a steep (30% or more, perhaps much more) decline in the value of the dollar:"

And that is why I have much of my assets in foreign denominated securities. 30-40% change in the value of the dollar is too big a change not to take advantage of. If you like economics, read his whole post. It is quite good.

I think, personally, we will be somewhere in between the two extremes (how noncommittal of me). It seems certain the dollar will decline. I think it will be somewhat orderly but there will definitely be some dislocations. The domestic economists are counting too much on the Fed and perfect reactions. The international economists I don't have much of an issue with except the worst case rarely happens. There will be adjustment. It might be painful but total economic stagnation would require no adjustment.

I think I would go with Frosted Flakes myself...

"If you can’t control it, let it go. Go back to your cereal. We suggest the oats squares."


Wise man that Martin. Even if he got it from a book.

At least it is something or is it nothing?

Well, I have to agree with Billmon, there is a first time for everything. And I want to say at least it is something, some sign of remorse. I think many things of the man, but cruelty was never one of them. His initial detached reaction to the hurricane, to be honest, shocked me. His more proactive stance, however, strikes me as nothing but political gamemanship. It is often true that the american public is forgiving to a fault. If Nixon said "there has been a fuck up and we are putting the people away" early on, I doubt he would have resigned. I think Bush is trying to play that angle. Why? Because it is the lazy way. And the one thing that I have learned over the years is Bush is a lazy, lazy man. He comes off as stupid and unaware because of this. He just does not care about anything related to the job or what we associate with civic political service. He likes a tussle (campaigning), he likes his sports, he likes his vacation time. Other than that, I can honestly say I have no clue about the man. Clinton? Workaholic, smarter than most of us can hope to be, an information whore. Bush 41? A statesman/ambassador. Deeply involved in "the game". Reagan? Passionate about anti-communism and all else was merely towards that goal.

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It has been long enough. I think we can safely assume my streak is intact. And I think I need to admit I am a wuss/scared. bleh

Bitch bitch bitch

MSN Money - When you -- and the IRS -- flip a condo: "Now, from your $100,000 gain, you've only cleared $44,700. "

Why is it that when people have to complain about taxes, they don't use any reasonable numbers? This idiot assumes a 35% tax rate. That means he is assuming the subject is making $319,101 or more a year. How reasonable is this assumption? Not very even among his readers. People making that much a year generally won't bother reading a free column for financial advice.

And idiot you even point out how this can be avoided anyway. Hold on the property for a year! Oh what is that? You need to flip it quickly because the market could fall or a balloon payment is due? Well, that is why this is an investment, it involves risk. If you don't want to take risks, then go find some bank CDs, flipping isn't for you.

And to top it off he is complaining that if you buy and sell multiple properties the IRS will consider it a business. Well guess what? If you are buying and selling this often, you are in the trade. Why should you get favorable tax treatment because you consider it a side thing for you? What if do more business than someone who this is their main job? He mentions self employment taxes of 15.3%. That would drop down to about 2% (the medicare part of it) after you sold the first house. And you wouldn't get hit with it in the first place unless you sold more than one (probably significantily more than one). So the numbers he presents is the absolute worst case scenario when combined into 1 transaction. If this was the only source of income (which negates the bitching of self-employment in the first place), the flipper has to make 4 sales at least for it to come true. And all three other sales would have a far lesser hit than the one he shows.

Finally, no where in this column is their any perspective that he is talking about 35 grand for 2 weeks a work, producing nothing, building nothing, not adding any extra value to anything. The flipper is just a leech. It sucks up wealth from the economy while not producing anything. That is why too much speculation is very bad. It is unsustainable. You want to bitch about making only 17 grand a week, go right ahead. You want to bitch about paying the same taxes as if you had a salaried job making the same amount but you work for much less time, go right ahead. It doesn't make you anything more than an idiot.

Word Verification

Sorry to anybody who wants to comment. I turned on word verification because of the spam incidents. I am doing this before it gets bad. It is another step. Not a huge deal but it will at least prevent autospammers.

Emails and streaks

So I replied to the shoe girl tonight. We will see if I break my streak. She is damn cute. She obviously has a pretty good sense of... I will say silliness. Humor is yet to be decided. But she seems to take my humor readily. Hell she replied to an email that started:

Nice Shoes, wanna....

So I probably she give her more credit for a full humor rating. Of course, considering the ad she might have just been braced for the worst.

This does tell me if it sputters and dies, that I need to take the plunge. Martin is right. Damn him.

For Kari

Suicidal music!

The Heroin Song - Dink

As I sit in my room at nite
With my curtains drawn closed and my door shut tight

I got my needles and I got my spoon
And I'm gonna lay it out on a picture of you
When the needle goes in my vain
I feel the power and glory and a little pain
I used to have a friend a lot like you
But now all I have is doom and gloom

When I look at you I go insane
The things that you do and the things that you say

In the garage- Weezer

In the garage, I feel safe.
No one cares about my ways.
In the garage where I belong.
No one hears me sing this song.
In the garage.

I've got an electric guitar.
I play my stupid songs.
I write these stupid words
And I love every one
Waiting there for me.
Yes I do, I do.

New Orleans on National Review Online

Editors on New Orleans on National Review Online: "No single step would go further to dramatize the GOP's commitment to rebuilding New Orleans than announcing now that the party's 2008 convention will be held in the recovering city."

Jesus Fucking Christ. Your party sat on its ass and did nothing for days and you think they will be ever so grateful to host your party right now? You guys are the obnoxious drunk guy trying to get into one more party before the night is over. Nobody wants you so you might as well go home.

New Orleans

A city I never been to. And as I type this, it might be too late. It looks like the city will be evacuated for a month. There are estimates as high as tens of thousands dead. It is a frightening dose of life. I can't even begin to imagine how long it would take to rebuild. It might take a month just to drain the water.

And New Orleans might not be the hurricane's only victim. It might have been that lil bit extra need to push this economy over the edge.

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I talked to Elena tonight (I really need to keep in touch with her more). I didn't know her sister was studying down there. Im glad to hear she is ok.

Love and Memories- O.A.R.

lovely
you're always lovely
i vision you were the one
now i'm stuck inside a memory
you forgot about a destiny
you buried me
didn't you
didn't you
love me faster than the devil
run me straight into the ground
drowning deep inside your water
drowning deep inside your sound