Fri 1 Aug 2008
This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week but never posted them up, let’s have them. Also a good place to post suggestions, requests for information, criticism, and praise.
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For new readers that have only read the messages displayed on the main page, take a look through the archives, a substantial amount of information has been put online in the past year. The archives can be accessed by using the links found in the menus on the right hand side of the page.
August 1st, 2008 at 5:55 am
From the Trentonian:
Princeton Junction lawyer guilty of $1M fraud
A Princeton Junction attorney pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy that defrauded mortgage lenders of at least $1 million, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said yesterday.
…
Between March 2003 and September 2005, he admitted he participated in the conspiracy with Wayne Puff, the former president and founder of NJ Affordable Homes Corp., which was based at various times in Perth Amboy and Woodbridge, to defraud various mortgage lenders, said Michael Drewniak, public affairs officer with Christie’s office.
August 1st, 2008 at 5:55 am
From the Star Ledger:
The Star-Ledger announces large-scale buyout offer
The owners of The Star-Ledger announced Thursday they will sell the newspaper if they cannot win union concessions and persuade a large number of non-union, full-time workers to take buyouts in the next two months.
The owners set a deadline of Oct. 1 for getting 200 of the paper’s 756 non-union full-time employees to take a buyout and for achieving the union concessions. The paper’s total workforce is 1,412.
August 1st, 2008 at 5:57 am
From Bloomberg:
Merrill `Co-Opted’ Analysts Backed Auction-Rate Debt to the End
Four days before Merrill Lynch & Co. stopped supporting the auction-rate securities market and left thousands of individual investors stuck with securities they couldn’t sell, the firm’s analysts recommended clients buy.
“Reports of the imminent demise of the auction market seem to be greatly exaggerated, again,” analyst Kevin Conery wrote in a Feb. 8 research note. “We continue to be impressed by the auction market’s resiliency.”
The remarks show Merrill’s researchers were “co-opted” during a seven-month drive by the New York-based firm’s sales force to prevent a meltdown in the $330 billion market, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin alleged yesterday in an administrative complaint filed in Boston. As the sales desk pushed analysts to publish upbeat notes, managers used gallows humor to complain about a “collapsing” market and the end of $2,000 dinners.
“Come on down and visit us in the vomitorium!!” the auction-rate desk’s managing director, Frances Constable, wrote to a co-worker in August, as demand began to dry up. “Market is collapsing,” another executive cited in Galvin’s complaint said in a November 2007 personal e-mail. “No more $2K dinners at CRU,” a Manhattan restaurant where the wine list includes dozens of bottles for more than $1,000.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:00 am
From MarketWatch:
Housing slump causes more people to stay put
Something happened last year in Chicago that hasn’t been seen since 2001: Instead of losing residents, the Second City actually gained population.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city’s population rose 0.3% between July 2006 and July 2007. While the growth may look paltry compared with other U.S. cities, it hints at how the sluggish housing market and the credit crunch is affecting migration trends, demographers say.
…
Meanwhile, hot cities including Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas — while not losing population — are showing reduced levels of growth, reversing the trend of Americans from northern states relocating in the Sun Belt, he said. Houston still had the largest numerical increase in population, according to the census.
In Florida, Miami, Orlando and Tampa saw a substantial slowdown in growth, he added.
…
The dismal state of the housing market is blamed for stalling the heavy movement to the south — for now anyway. As home prices have plunged, many homeowners who want to move are staying put instead of selling for less than what they think their homes are worth.
…
Stricter lending requirements also seem to be enabling larger cities to retain more of their residents. Young would-be homeowners who can’t get a mortgage in order to buy a home in the suburbs may be remaining in the city for now, Frey said.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:03 am
From the FT:
Real estate sector fears huge increase in CMBS defaults
Defaults on commercial mortgage-backed securities issued at the height of the credit bubble will more than quadruple from their current levels under conditions in the US economy expected by the commercial real estate industry, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.
Borrowers would default on an average of 17.2 per cent of securitised commercial mortgages over 10 years if the US economy dips into a recession with 0.2 per cent contraction in growth, compared with current very low default rates of 4 per cent, a rise of 330 per cent.
Such a scenario corresponds “to the negative predictions currently offered by commercial real estate experts”, analysts at Fitch wrote. This would happen if the economy suffered a similar downturn to 1991, and assumes that the value of properties covered by the deals falls by 25 per cent, and cash flow from rents by 15 per cent.
The higher defaults under such a slowdown compares with a historical default rate of 7.9 per cent, and with the milder scenario that Fitch thinks is more possible of 0.8 per cent economic growth and a 13.7 per cent rate of default.
It would cause non-investment grade bonds - B and BB rated CMBS - to suffer loss rates of 100 per cent and 95.9 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, 30.6 per cent of the lowest-rated investment grade bonds - BBB rated - would experience losses, while loss severities would rise to 37.9 per cent from an historical average of 33.5 per cent.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:05 am
From NYT/Dealbook:
Scenes From a Merrill Meltdown
When the history of the Great Market Crash of 2008 is written, perhaps the following will make for a fitting epigraph:
“Market is collapsing. No more $2k dinners at CRU!! The Financials are being invicerated! [sic]”
That cri-de-coeur, penned by a Merrill Lynch executive in an e-mail message last November, showed up in an 80-page lawsuit (PDF) filed on Thursday by the state of Massachusetts, which is suing Merrill for misleading investors about toxic auction-rate securities. (Cru is the West Village hot spot whose $78 prix-fixe includes braised Berkshire pork belly and foie gras terrine.)
It was the latest entry in a peculiar genre of poem: the Wall Street confessional. The missives, which first gained notoriety in the Eliot Spitzer era, are making a comeback as a new wave of financial fraud cases pop up in the courts.
Add a few Merrill messages to the canon. Referring to the firm’s auction trading desk, a managing director wrote, “Come on down and visit us in the vomitorium!!” (This came as clients were allegedly advised to snap up the suspect securities.)
Later, after an unfriendly questioner emerged on a sales call, the managing director urged a research analyst: “Shut this guy down. Suggest he call outside this call. He is focusing attention away from your positive message.”
Finally, the same banker used an incriminating metaphor to motivate her sales team.
“The gloves are off and we are not concerned with issuer perception of our abilities and the competition,” she wrote. “Gotta move these microwave ovens!!”
August 1st, 2008 at 6:11 am
From LoHud:
Home foreclosures, mortgage fraud on rise in New York
A report issued yesterday by the state Commission of Investigation found that home foreclosures have risen an alarming 14 percent in New York in recent months, with most cases in the New York City area.
The report finds loopholes in state law are aiding the mortgage meltdown, despite attempts by the state Legislature to strengthen laws to protect homeowners.
…
In 2007, New York City accounted for half of foreclosure filings in the state. Brooklyn and Queens together had 36 percent of the total filings, ranking first and second, respectively. Suffolk and Nassau counties ranked third and fourth.
For the first quarter of this year, Westchester ranked sixth in the number of foreclosure filings, with 732, or 5.2 percent of the total statewide. Rockland ranked 11th and Putnam ranked 16th.
Monroe County and the city of Rochester ranked fifth statewide with 815 foreclosure filings in the first quarter of the calendar year, which ended March 31. In 2007, the county had about 2,000 foreclosure filings - tops in upstate New York.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:29 am
6-grim
How do you go from 78 fixed price to 2k?
Which if the food is really good is not horrendous considering it costs about 30 dollars to goto outback and get a steak.
Have fun at the meetup, I am out celebrating my 29th.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:30 am
From Fox Philly:
Close To 90 N.J. Towns Owe Millions For State Police Protection
89 New Jersey towns owe more than $12 million dollars for state police protection.
For the first time, they are being asked to share the costs to offset a budget shortfall and they’re none to happy about it.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:31 am
How do you go from 78 fixed price to 2k?
Vino
August 1st, 2008 at 6:32 am
From Bloomberg:
IndyMac, Second-Largest Mortgage Lender, to File for Bankruptcy
IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the second- largest independent mortgage lender in the U.S. before it was forced to curtail lending, filed for bankruptcy after a run by depositors left the California mortgage lender short on cash.
IndyMac will file for bankruptcy today in a California court, seeking relief under Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the U.S. code, the Pasadena, California-based company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:35 am
Grim,
You forgot the most important news. The fat cat is a victim of foreclosures.
Well more like victim of a bad owner.
“”It broke my heart to give him up,” Donna Oklatner told MyFOXPhilly.com. “I could not take care of him. I love him. It broke me heart. I wanted him to have a good home.”
I’m sorry but leaving a cat to wander the streets isn’t “giving him up”. That’s abandonment. Giving him up would be taking him to a shelter at least.
Apparently she gave him to “a friend” to take to the shelter but he never made it there.
Maybe I’m a bit callous because of all these stories of animals being abandoned like this, but I don’t buy the friend story.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:37 am
#6 I’m glad to see Wall St is still full of people with lots of class and integrity….
/off sarcasm
August 1st, 2008 at 6:42 am
More great news from big realtor!
“”The passing of this legislation is great news, particularly for anyone thinking about buying their first home,” said Weichert. “The current market already presents a great opportunity for first-time buyers when you consider interest rates remain historically low, home prices continue to be more affordable than in recent years and there is a large supply of homes to choose from. Now with the added incentive of a sizeable tax credit, it would be hard for me to resist if I was a first-time buyer.” “
Nice change of pace to hear a realtor telling everyone to buy houses.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:43 am
Note: If I am ever in a position to incriminate myself in an email, I’ll be sure to run spell check before sending it.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:45 am
Nice change of pace to hear a realtor telling everyone to buy houses.
Weichert’s cheerleader outfit is looking a bit threadbare, and those pompoms sure look like they’ve seen better days.
August 1st, 2008 at 6:48 am
“filed on Thursday by the state of Massachusetts, which is suing Merrill for misleading investors about toxic auction-rate securities.”
How can they claim to be mislead when they bought something with toxic right in the name :)
August 1st, 2008 at 7:05 am
From Bloomberg:
U.S. Economy Probably Lost Jobs for Seventh Consecutive Month
The U.S. probably lost jobs in July for a seventh consecutive month and the unemployment rate rose, increasing the risk the economic slowdown will worsen, economists said before a government report today.
Payrolls fell by 75,000 after a 62,000 decline in June, according to the median estimate of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The jobless rate probably rose to 5.6 percent, the highest level in four years, according to the survey median.
…
“We’ll see accelerated declines in payrolls,” said Lindsey Piegza, an economic analyst at FTN Financial in New York. “That will really compound the pressure on the consumer.”
August 1st, 2008 at 7:08 am
IndyMac Files For Bankruptcy
“IndyMac said its liabilities are between $100 million and $500 million, according to the Chapter 7 filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. The bank said it has fewer than 50 creditors. “
Oh $100 or $500 million, but who’s really counting?
August 1st, 2008 at 7:09 am
Does it really matter? We’re good for it.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:21 am
State Police are trying to raise money by stopping people for going 5 mph over the speed limit. Watch out people…
August 1st, 2008 at 7:28 am
LOL. Cramer on the today show says oil companies made big profits because the spike in oil prices and Exxon probably peaked this quarter because the price of oil is coming down.
Uhm… shouldn’t that be the other way around? Most other industries make less profit when the price of their supplies go up.
Also said housing will stabilize and it’s possible things won’t get worse.
They replayed his flip out clip. Shame all those people were losing their jobs because the fed didn’t come rescue them from their own stupidity earlier.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:32 am
From the WSJ:
GM Swings to Loss
By MIKE BARRIS
August 1, 2008 7:29 a.m.
General Motors Corp. swung to a $15.5 billion second-quarter net loss amid $9.1 billion in charges and write-downs, stung by strikes at a major supplier and collapsing truck and SUV sales.
The company had warned early in July that it would post “a significant second quarter loss.”
August 1st, 2008 at 7:32 am
This is old news, but I just noticed it. The base rate on I-series savings bonds is zero percent as of May 1. Supposedly the rate is determined by the outcome of recent TIPS auctions, which yields are hideous. Inflation protected securities seems to be a parimutuel game which now only pays out on a longshot.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:45 am
#21 tbw
I don’t think it’s just the state police. I’ve noticed a a huge increase in
Warren in the number of police hiding along the busy commuting roads this week. My coworkers are saying the same thing about the local cops on the 40 mph roads in Morris County.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:54 am
I agee with Tom (12).
This cat owner, Donna Oklatner, is a total moron. Never could stand people who abandon animals.
Believe it or not, alot of forgotten heros during Vietnam were dogs. Thats for damn sure!
but this shows you the underlying personality, pshychology & irresponsibilty of many (not all) people in foreclosure.
Most (not all) are irresponsible and have a total emotional detachment from reality (i.e bills to pay or buying something knowing of they can afford anyways).
So, there is a psychological profile/correlation here at work.
and I submit to you that most (not all) people in foreclose… is not really an economical issue, but rather a complete psychological issue. Specifically, stupidity, irresponsibilty, emotional detachments from reality, lazy, expecting other to do for you, etc.. .etc….
And just think, you are about to bend over, with your pants around your ankles, so these people can pay their morgages.
ex.H R 3221 Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008
sad but true.
SAS
August 1st, 2008 at 7:55 am
I am out of the Tips. Into Prudent Bear Global Income. All disclaimers.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:58 am
“I’ve noticed a a huge increase in
Warren in the number of police hiding along the busy commuting roads this week. My coworkers are saying the same thing about the local cops on the 40 mph roads in Morris County”
yes, I’ve noticed this too. Keep in mind law enforcement is viewed as a revenue stream and not a peace officer. Gotta write those tickets. But yet, on the other hand, I don’t blame them. ALot of you drive like crap, so they are going to capitalize on that.
See, another reason 911 is a joke. THe cops are too busy writing tickts to these awful drivers and it takes away time & resources to a true emergency.
SAS
August 1st, 2008 at 8:01 am
“Most (not all) are irresponsible and have a total emotional detachment from reality (i.e bills to pay or buying something knowing of they can afford anyways).”
sas,
if only the credit industry was capable of coming up with some sort of way to differentiate borrowers, and somehow rank them using maybe a numerical value which would indicate how they have behaved with credit in the past to determine their level of risk so that lenders wouldn’t give them more money than they can reasonably afford to pay back, this could have all been avoided.
Oh wait.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:04 am
Tom,
They do, or should I say.. they did.
In my day, we called it the 4 C’s.
But today, these morons will give a loan to anyone. and when it comes back to haunt them, they cry fould.
boo hoo.
these spoon fed babies. They cry if they break a nail, or if they run out of conditioner at the bathhouse.
SAS
August 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am
sas,
That breeze you felt over your head indicates you need to read my poorly formed run on sentence again :)
August 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am
Pimco:
Bill Gross’ Investment Outlook
http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Featured+Market+Commentary/IO/2008/Investment+Outlook+Bill+Gross+Mooooooo+August+2008.htm
“Yet credit creation modeled after mother’s or better yet – cow’s milk – is not always a predictable event. Almost always the milkmaid or modern-day farmhand is blessed with an ever increasing pail of the white elixir. Occasionally, however, because of irritable bovine bowel syndrome or just bad grass, Old Bessie doesn’t produce. So it is in today’s financial markets. Debtors in need of more milk are squeezing the teat and not much is coming out. And this deflating supply of credit is in effect the financial market’s version of Mad Cow disease. It can be deadly.”
August 1st, 2008 at 8:10 am
I gotcha bloke!
I’m just on a rant.
;)
SAS
August 1st, 2008 at 8:10 am
MSN Money:
The repugnant bailout nation
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/TheRepugnantBailoutNation.aspx
“We are at another moment when those of a bullish persuasion, whose financial muscle memory was developed under former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, are determined to put lipstick on the pig at every opportunity.”
August 1st, 2008 at 8:16 am
The awful drivers are the ones who arent paying attention to what they are doing. Unfortunately, these dangerous drivers never get stopped for having their heads up their posteriors.
I especially love the “speed limit vigilanties”, basically drivers who coast 50 mph in the left lane, refusing to mover over to the right. The DOT really needs to put up signs indicating that the left lane is for passing, not cruising. If you arent going faster than the car to the right of you, MOVE OVER!
end rant.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:17 am
#27 HEHEHE
Is it worth the 1.53% expense ratio?
August 1st, 2008 at 8:20 am
Freshman year in college was a blur to me. Managed to get on academic and residence life probation simultaneously. Besides the threat of getting the boot if I didn’t get the GPA into the 2s, they banished me to all male dorm. Needless to say, most of the football players and EOF students ended up banished to this dorm as well due to similar circumstances. At first, the fear of being labeled a homo scared the sh*t outta me. We also had community johns, so it wasn’t unusual on Friday morning to find a giant turd in a urinal. You also had to keep a spare set of clothes with you in the shower as frequently the boys would steal your stuff when you were washing up. Nothing like running down the hallway to your room in a moldy old shower curtain. Learned some good shower pranks including continuously dumping shampoo on the head of the dude showering next to you as he has his eyes closed trying to rinse his shampoo out. One day, we moved every piece of our R.A.’s furniture into the bathroom as he showered. We even hung his friggin’ plants. That was a riot. Well anyhow, the chicks saw our dorm the same way fluke see chum and my homo fears quickly faded. No fayg was gonna live in a building with such bad shared bathroom conditions anyhow. And the EOF and football players provided supplemental income if you new how to play ‘em. The football players never did their term papers so a quick search using compuserve yielded plenty that that could be sold to ‘em. The ballers paid top dollar for they thought I wrote ‘em (with my 1.8 gpa and all). The EOF students could be used to buy your books as they were given a free $500 bookstore stipend each semester. I would buy their stipend for $100 cash and then would buy everyone their books at a 20% discount. Did I feel guilty? No effin way. 9 out of 10 of them wouldn’t make it to sophomore year anyhow.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:25 am
Grim,
I did some research and found that Mod security on certain blogs will result in the following error..”An appropriate representation of the requested resource /blog/wp-comments-post.php could not be found on this server.”
In my case, it was the word linx, but spelled with a ‘y’.
Apparently, there are a bunch of old school internet/Apache server terms that trip the error.
Just thought you might want to know.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:25 am
“Stressed banks borrow record amount from Fed”
http://tinyurl.com/59g5e9
August 1st, 2008 at 8:34 am
#15 - Note: If I am ever in a position to incriminate myself in an email, I’ll be sure to run spell check before sending it.
I don’t understand, it was a perfectly cromulent word.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:36 am
Government says economy shed 51,000 jobs in July - fewer than expected - but unemployment rate rose to 5.7% - highest in 4 years.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:36 am
No turn signals. That gets my goat every time, I cannot stand drivers who never use turn signals.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:39 am
“No turn signals. That gets my goat every time, I cannot stand drivers who never use turn signals.”
That’s because their left hand is too busy holding the cell phone to their ear.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
Unemployment at 4-year high
Employers trim payrolls for seventh straight month in July, as jobless rate rises to 5.7%, a full percentage point higher than year ago.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
August 1, 2008: 8:36 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Employers trimmed jobs once again in July and the unemployment rate hit a four-year high, according to a government report Friday that showed the seventh straight month of job losses .
The Labor Department reported a net loss of 51,000 jobs in the month, compared to a revised loss of 51,000 jobs in June. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had been forecasting a loss of 75,000 jobs in the latest report.
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.7% from a 5.5% reading in June. It was the worst reading since March 2004, and slightly worse than economists’ forecast of a 5.6% rate.
The rate has now jumped a full percentage point from a year ago.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:43 am
Got my monthly compiled listings for the various towns Stu and I are watching. My quick 10 second assessment:
Same tired crap. Slightly lower priced.
Happy Friday, everyone!
August 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
Well we just canceled a contract on a termite infested short sale……Oh well….
WE have decided to put off the search until the baby DINJ arrives in November.
Any thoughts on searching for a home with a newborn?
August 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
So Me and my buddy Mug hop a steamer out of Greenport Long island, old whaling village on the north fork. I only go North Fork, the Hamptons are for pinkshirted, pennyloafer types. Let me tell you its still a whaling village with all the 200+ pounders waddling around. Funny thing is the captains name is Quint and the boat is heading to Spain, not Staten Island. 30 cases of Ballantine and a few rounds with the hag cooking swill later and I’m getting chased by some bulls in Pamplona. I never seen Mug run so fast cept for the time we cut out on the check at the Athena diner on cross bay boulevard. Ever notice that Greek chicks have Hairy arms and unibrows walk kinda funny. Steal a ford escorpio and get the hell out of the bull town and head out to the country where everyone is speaking like the regulars at a chelsea nite club. Mug hates lisps and we just hightail it out of there. Me, I hate midgets, Mug, its lisps. Anyway, That was one crazy weekend. Work was rough on Monday.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:49 am
Shower pranks were indeed popular. My hallinvented the janitors closet technique as one freshman jerk deserved more, the janitors closet we broke the inside doorknob off and broke the wood above the door. We jamed the freshman in there and throw everything nasty you could impagine over the top right on hime and then we shoved the hose in for a good washing and then let them stew for 30 minutes. He was naked in there too, dang when we flipped the door open and ran that nut was so freaked out we ran down the hall naked and had a big wipe out cause he was wet, he looked like a freak show. Someone once told me that most days are the same and we remember very little details of our life. Anytime you can remember an incident in detail it is a blessing. Well the freshman who was spreading crabs we locked in the closet will remember his special 30 minutes for a lifetime and that is really quite special. It is also special for all the girls he gave it too, payback is fun.
The RA on our hall was a real A-hole, worst ever, so my hall invneted something called a piss pot, everyone on the hall had a big old nasty glass jar with a screw on lid, our plan was everytime you has something truly disgusting, scab, snot, pimple, toenail clipping, rancid food, dead mouse etc. you put it in the jar. On the last day of year we pelted his entire room with several jars of the stuff. For some reason that RA guy went bizark. But it was really really funny. I guess that was his special moment he will always remember.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
CNBC interview with Meredith Whitney from Oppenheimer;
Maria B.: Can Lehman survive? (around the 8:22 mark)
Whitney: Umm… I… ermm.. I don’t know…
Interesting interview too.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:51 am
David,
I saw that, I think so as I expect things to get much lousier. To each their own I guess. It was only 1% higher than the TIPS account I had been sitting in for a year. That one did well for about 8 months then pretty much stagnated. I figure I’d let it ride a year in the Prudent Bear. Again I am obviously no investment expert.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:59 am
Sorry, but John out “Johned” everyone.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:02 am
Here’s a new one, at least for me:
Looked at an attractive small house this week. After checking the unfinished basement, accessible by narrow stairs without a rail that aren’t up to code, I decided there’s no way a fuel tank could have been originally installed (or removed for that matter).
Seller checked “don’t know” on UST part of the disclosure. Lived there about 20 years. I went back early the next morning and found the tank which was overrun by roots from a nearby huge pine tree.
This morning I hear from my agent that not one tank has been found, but two. Two for the price of one! House is vacant. Seller already owns another one around the corner. LOL.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am
twice shy: How did they find the tanks?
August 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am
John,
That all male dorm was a trip.
I eventually become an RA and then an AM (supervisor to the RAs), but my policy was that as long as you shared your beer or pot with me, I wouldn’t rat you out. No share, well then the situation was going to be documented.
Speaking of janitor closets. Every year, we would temporarily assign a freshman triple to a janitors closet. The look on the parents faces as well as on the Frosh was fantastic as they opened the door to the closet. Then, someone was assigned to say, “Look on the bright side, you have your own sink!”
Then there was the pennying people into their rooms and throwing a stink bomb in from their window. Or simply leaning a waste bin of piss against their door so they would get to experience the yellow tide in the morning when they left for class.
The best thing I took from Stone Hall was a ping-pong serve that I learned from a Vietnamese exchange student that is virtually impossible to return.
Good times.
My res life jobs eventually paid for my room and board for the last 4 years of my higher education. It was also, the single greatest chick magnet ever. All those freshman girls on the rebound after breaking up with their high school sweethearts, and they would come to me to make them feel better. Oh, I made them feel better alright!
August 1st, 2008 at 9:05 am
[53]:
Professional tank sweep.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:08 am
RPatrick,
Funny, I just turned 29 yesterday too! Happy Birthday.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am
“Come on down and visit us in the vomitorium!!” the auction-rate desk’s managing director, Frances Constable, wrote to a co-worker in August, as demand began to dry up. “Market is collapsing,” another executive cited in Galvin’s complaint said in a November 2007 personal e-mail. “No more $2K dinners at CRU,” a Manhattan restaurant where the wine list includes dozens of bottles for more than $1,000.
I GOT A LITTLE QUAD ACTION HERE:
lost the contents of my sinus, stomach, bladder and bowel simultaneously…..I think I scared Hunter….
August 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am
grim (16)-
It is a barely-concealed fact that Weichert’s managers- once their contracts expire- are being pared down to override-only compensation. Naturally, they are all quitting.
They are being replaced in my area by some of the biggest losers ever to hit the biz. However, these are the people who are willing to accept only override as comp.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:16 am
[58]
What is “override-only compensation?”
August 1st, 2008 at 9:17 am
#6
Oh my
August 1st, 2008 at 9:17 am
Look on the bright side, at least the numbers came in lower than estimated.
From Bloomberg:
U.S. Payrolls Drop 51,000 Jobs; Jobless Rate Rises
The U.S. lost jobs in July for a seventh straight month and the unemployment rate rose, increasing the risk that the economic slowdown will worsen.
Payrolls fell by 51,000, less than forecast, after a decline of 51,000 in June that was smaller than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate rose to 5.7 percent, the highest since March 2004, from 5.5 percent the prior month.
Fewer jobs, combined with decreasing property values, stricter lending rules and near-record energy prices, threaten to cut household spending. Cutbacks at UAL Corp. and Starbucks Corp. signal firings are spreading beyond builders and manufacturers as the cost of raw materials soars.
“There’s not a whole lot of optimism among employers,” Peter Kretzmer, a senior economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York, said before the report. “The economy will get worse, and that can certainly generate more weakness in the labor market.”
August 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
amazon’s #1 best seller today for weekend reading:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/53/ref=pd_ts_b_nav
August 1st, 2008 at 9:23 am
We used to penny sleeping people in and then yell fire, fire as we slowly sprayed talcom powder under the door. We only did it to first floor freshman people and the dopes always jumped out the window.
My stupid hall way had a janitors closet with a room number and we ordered dominos pizza 5 minutes before closing, of course our room was nearby and we would commensurate the guy who had to eat the cost of the pizza as it was too late to take it back and we were nice enough to buy it off him for half price. So one day the guy catches on and starts giving us heat but the guy down the hall was smart enough to swipe all the other pies out of his domino’s ford escort and a feast was had by all. College was a lot more fun when their was nothing to do in the rooms, the kids today have cable internet, ac, ipods, blackberries, single room dorms. When you triple in a small room with two other 18 year olds with no TV or phone in the room you get into a lot more trouble.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
#63 John
OMG, we used to pull the same janitor closet/ pizza scam at my school!!! LOL.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
John,
Same Domino’s pizza trick was performed regularly at Stone Hall as well. Eventually, Domino’s ‘wouldn’t deliver!’
I was introduced to Hawaiian Pizza by the brothers. Pineapple and bacon was the shiznit!
August 1st, 2008 at 9:28 am
#46 DINJ
“Any thoughts on searching for a home with a newborn?”
That’s what the Realtor is there for. They hold the baby or watch the stroller while you look round the house.
If they give you any lip, just say “No Babysitting, No Commission”
August 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am
One time we threw a party in the dorm. I was chuggen down boilermakers made out of black Label and Mohawk. These fist pumpers crashed in and tried to throw off this playa’s game. Well they didnt no I had dun a lot of Hai karate back in the day. Nocked the lipstick right off them pigs without spilling a drop of my brew.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
One last story…
Freshman year, I get booked into a room with two EOF students. One was from Elizabeth, which I learned was pronounced Lizbit. Other was from West New York and only acted tough.
Well a few nights into my college experience, one of them ask me if I ever, “busted a nut with a girl?” Having no clue as to what they were talking about having grown up from that urban enclave known as East Brunswick, I responded, “No, but it sounds awfully painful!” For the next 3 months, I had to hear that story repeated at least 100 times.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
2x (59)-
A percentage of commission dollar on closed sales. A very low percentage.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:34 am
RPat
“How do you go from 78 fixed price to 2k?
Which if the food is really good is not horrendous considering it costs about 30 dollars to goto outback and get a steak.”
Agree the price ain’t bad. The $2K is the result of the wines. You get two guys and a client at the table and they each want to show how much the know about expensive wine, someone orders a couple of bottles of Ridge Monte Bello ‘79 and you’re at $2K pretty quickly.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:34 am
BI:
Have you read any of Mr. Corsi’s other fiction? He’s on track to replace Shakespeare!
Mr. Corsi is the author of several books, including “Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry” (along with John O’Neill), “Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil” (along with Craig R. Smith), “Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians,” and most recently, “Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders.”
August 1st, 2008 at 9:36 am
6 grim
I wonder what sorts of emails are floating around penned by Yun and Lereah and company discussing the falling RE market while they were out telling everyone to buy?
August 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
yeah, I like that Jerome R Corsi.
SAS
August 1st, 2008 at 9:39 am
14 Tom
“The passing of this legislation is great news, particularly for anyone thinking about buying their first home,” said Weichert. “The current market already presents a great opportunity for first-time buyers when you consider interest rates remain historically low, home prices continue to be more affordable than in recent years and there is a large supply of homes to choose from.”
Come to think of it, I have an email from a Weichert agent telling me that I was right about the RE market and she was wrong and it was a good thing I didn’t buy and would I please call her next year if I’m considering getting back in the market.
Hmmmm.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:41 am
19 Tom
“Oh $100 or $500 million, but who’s really counting?”
Certainly not the CFO of IndyMac…
August 1st, 2008 at 9:46 am
“But yet, on the other hand, I don’t blame them. ALot of you drive like crap”
sas, you regularly crack me up.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:48 am
#74 njpatient
I’ve been getting a monthly newsletter on email from a realtor who showed me a house back in 2004. First three years was buy, buy, buy. Last 12 months has been gardening and barbecue tips… ;)
August 1st, 2008 at 9:48 am
BC,
You out there? Heard he went on very late… due to the bad traffic I presume? 3 East was backed up from the Stadium to Montclair at 730p, and the turnpike was obviously a nightmare.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:51 am
37 Stu
Now THAT get’s my vote for the Write As John contest!!!
I think it most accurately captures the anti-hero flavor. Some of our other efforts have been too … romantic.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:52 am
So one night me and my pals grab a garbage can and brew up some boondoggle which is mad dog, koolade, grain and some slices of orange for the chiqitas. But one buddy of mine is a pharma major and he scores some romilar codene coff sirup, we dump it into the juice. So to make sure nobody dies, we give everybody three tickets, after three you’re cut off. Man you never saw girls get so wasted.
So me and my pal square off with this butter face and she’s giving us the old dog and whistle in the janitor closet and things are moving along pretty good and she’s sorta rocking along like a tub of spoiled cottage cheese. Then there’s a knock on the door and it’s this guy from down the hall and he has a cattle prod.
oops gotta go. Wisdom tree trading down. Hoo boy, I don’t think I have any stops in.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am
The above was me, as John. Please do not draw parallels between this and my current (or any other) life.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am
42 Sean
I second that motion.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:56 am
[21, 25]
Regular readers of this blog will recall that I warned y’all about the police becoming the new tax collectors for the state and towns.
My rule (learned thru painful experience) is to NOT be the fastest guy out there, only the 2nd fastest. I take full advantage of the fact that NY/NJ types always feel that they have to be the lead dog. Sometimes I can bait them into speeding and off they go. I call them “rabbits” because they will go fast and attract the hounds. Sit back about 500 yards and watch the fun.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:57 am
46 DINJ
“Any thoughts on searching for a home with a newborn?”
We did that in early ‘07 (a newborn, two-year-old and four-year old). We’d just pull the baby’s ejectable car seat out, walk into the house, and leave her snoring in the foyer while the two older Little Patients ran around the house saying things like “but it has no fireplace!” or “what’s that smell?!?”
When our realtor got too annoying and talkative, we’d make her hold the baby.
It was great.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:58 am
“Funny thing is the captains name is Quint and the boat is heading to Spain, not Staten Island. 30 cases of Ballantine and a few rounds with the hag cooking swill later and I’m getting chased by some bulls in Pamplona.”
Hemingway. Didn’t I say, Hemingway? We’re turning John into Hemingway.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:00 am
patient (85)-
Yeah, it doesn’t ring true. The accurate voice is sort of an Andrew Dice Clay/Bob Guccione hybrid.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:00 am
Sybarite-
RPatrick-
I see we have a few birthdays this week….mine is today (but the celebration usually lasts all month).
I knew there was something I instantly liked about you two Leos!!
August 1st, 2008 at 10:01 am
[11] Grim,
Wonder if Chuck will hang that trophy on his wall? I noticed that his website has absolutely no references to Indymac on it.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:03 am
54 stu
“Then there was the pennying people into their rooms and throwing a stink bomb in from their window. Or simply leaning a waste bin of piss against their door so they would get to experience the yellow tide in the morning when they left for class.”
Never stretched plastic wrap over the toilet bowl?
August 1st, 2008 at 10:05 am
62 bi
Jerome Corsi? You’re flogging a book by Jerome Corsi?
Oh my.
Desperation really has set in, hasn’t it?
August 1st, 2008 at 10:06 am
Clot [69]:
Small percentage commission on closed sales with (I’m assuming) no base pay? My confidence in Weichert agents and agency has been taken down another notch.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:07 am
njpatient,
I’m in shock! Do you think she’s going to send giftbaskets with an apology to the ones she sold houses to? :)
Just got off the phone with Burtch Seed in OH. They’re one of the few distributors of this variety of kentucky bluegrass I was looking for, Avalanche. It’s in Scotts Pro line of grass seeds.
It tested really well at Rutgers New Brunswick. Beat out other KBG varieties in all categories. The guy told me they use it a lot around there for sports fields because it stands up to traffic well. The variety is only 2 years old so I haven’t seen any pics of it but he told me it’s fine bladed and has a very dark color. The Rutgers NTEP tests rank it as the darkest.
I’m going to be overseeding into the existing lawn so I’m not sure how dark it will be mixed in with what I have. Hopefully I get some improvement in color. It’s only about twice the price of the good seeds you can get at home depot so I’m going to try it out. This place also sells by the lb and not just by the 50lb sack they sell to golf courses and arenas.
Hopefully the results are worth the frustration I had the past couple of weeks trying to decide which seed to go with. Life was simpler before I knew there were other seeds besides the stuff you can buy at HD.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:08 am
Lehman to Sell $30 Billion in Mortgage Assets.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/25963606
August 1st, 2008 at 10:09 am
80 Clot
A+
I split my sides!
August 1st, 2008 at 10:10 am
83 Nom
“Sometimes I can bait them ”
This is a very important skill.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
#89 njp
I loved that move.
When I worked at a beach club I nailed the handyman with that one. Took the lightbulb out of the bathroom so he wouldn’t notice. got the head cook too.
In college I poured pickle juice and the oil from canned tuna in the carpets of one of my friend’s dorm. Place reeked for weeks.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
Home Prices Fell in 23 of 25 U.S. Metro Areas in May
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) — Home prices fell in 23 of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas in May from a year earlier as foreclosure sales pushed down values and most areas remained mired in the housing recession.
Sacramento had the biggest price drop, falling 31 percent from May 2007. Las Vegas declined 29.5 percent, San Diego 27.2 percent, St. Louis 26.9 percent and Phoenix 25.8 percent, said real estate data company Radar Logic Inc. Sales rose in 22 areas in May from April, driven by “motivated” sellers including banks, the company said.
Radar Logic’s May report showed no improvement in prices from April. May was the second consecutive month when prices fell in 23 of 25 metropolitan areas from a year earlier, suggesting no end to the three-year slump.
Bill Gross, who manages the world’s biggest bond fund, predicted last month that falling U.S. home prices will force financial firms to write down $1 trillion from their balance sheets, crimping bank lending and sparking sales of assets.
St. Louis had the biggest transaction decline, falling 75.9 percent, followed by Philadelphia (49.6 percent), Seattle (46.1 percent) and Atlanta (41 percent). Manhattan condominium transactions fell 31.8 percent, Radar Logic said.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
86 clot
Exactly.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:13 am
I would love to read a book by John. He would put all those hard boiled detective writers to shame.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:13 am
From Article above,
Prices in the New York metropolitan area fell 5.8 percent from a year ago. They dropped 6 percent in Chicago and 7.8 percent in Boston, Radar Logic said.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:13 am
92 Tom
As many in these parts know, I’m a big fan of the bluegrass.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am
93 DL
“Lehman to Sell $30 Billion in Mortgage Assets”
for $1.5B? I hear that’s the going rate!
August 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
So how do you guys feel about the future of Perth Amboy?
GSMLS #2546219 is listed at 305k. 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. New construction.
305k seems high to me for PA.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
“Prices in the New York metropolitan area fell 5.8 percent from a year ago.”
Pretorius Johnson was right!!
Well, close enough. That’s in the ballpark of a price change somewhere between -5% and +5%.
You know: “stagnant”.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
52:
Unless they promise total remediation, I’d say, “Tanks, but no tanks.”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:19 am
102 - njpatient: 5 cents on the dollar? Not bearish enough.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Good long article. Here are the topics.
IS THE U.S. BANKING SYSTEM SAFE?
Deception – Keeping the Ponzi Scheme Going
The Future FDIC Bailout
What is a Level 3 Asset?
Merrill Lynch – Poster Child for Lack of Bank Credibility
Is Housing Near the Bottom?
Fannie & Freddie Fiasco
Next Shoes to Drop – How High Will the Losses Go
August 1st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Leo here, later this month.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:21 am
96 bairen
My roommate and I had a giant slingshot that could launch a water balloon ~400 feet (range increased when we went to the roof of the music building, which was always empty).
By the time the water balloons landed, they were coming down almost vertically, and it was impossible to tell from what direction they were coming.
The reign of terror lasted about two years, and on one occasion when we had targeted the same spot for a bit too long, the head of security arrived, hopped out of his pickup, started looking around to try to spot the culprits, and jumped about three feet when the next shot landed in the bed of his pickup with an unholy bang.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:23 am
#104
Njpatient Johnson is right about Pretorius Johnson being right!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 10:25 am
I think that’s Mel Brooks’s greatest work.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:28 am
NJpatient (89):
Plastic wrap would be too obvious although plenty of double deckers were performed at many a frat party. Fortunately the toilets in Stone were of the tankless variety.
Thanks for the compliments on my John attempt.
He is truly impossible to duplicate. I do agree that many of the entries are too ‘Naked City’ and just no ‘real’. Although, they are none-the-less entertaining.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
#111
Mongo… Santa Maria!!! ;)
August 1st, 2008 at 10:33 am
Nice to see domestic Anthrax terrorist Bruce E. Ivins offed himself. The Patient family is happy to see him go. Maybe now we can stop pretending it never happened.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:34 am
“I say the sheriff is a ni(bing)”
“The sheriff is near?”
“No, no, no. I said the sheriff is a ni(bing)”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:35 am
Stu - we may need to bring that bell to the inauguration in January.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:37 am
“Excuse me while I whip this out”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:37 am
“Is it twue what they say about you people?”
“Oh, it’s twue, it’s twue!”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:39 am
15 schnitzengruben is my limit. Baby! I’m not from Havana!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 10:42 am
We really went downhill fast this week, I can’t imagine what the quality of discussion will be like at 3 this afternoon.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Back to RE:
OK, we’ll give some land to the n*@#+* and the c*#@+#, but we don’t want the Irish…
August 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Not that there is anything wrong with that
August 1st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Englewodd Cliff Comp Killer!
SOLD: 289 CENTER ST $1,450,000 12/17/2004
MLS#: 2818026
Orig List: $1,660,000 5/2/2008
Last List: $1,425,000 8/1/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 10:44 am
Sub ‘04? Wow.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:46 am
(123) Englewood Cliffs Correction
SOLD: $1,425,000 8/1/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 10:48 am
Lodi Comp Killer!
SOLD: 253 GROVE ST $383,000 6/3/2005
MLS#: 2811897 (REO)
Orig List: $329,900 3/25/2008
SOLD: $285,000 7/31/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 10:48 am
114: njpatient: “Nice to see domestic Anthrax terrorist Bruce E. Ivins offed himself. The Patient family is happy to see him go.”
The trial and day in court are overrated anway? I don’t know whether he was guilty or not, but, for example, seeing the public lynching of (innocent) Dr Hatfill without a shred of evidence, there are other possible explanations for suicide.
You truly are a sick human being.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
john once said 90% of people should know his father’s work. guess what is his father’s name?
August 1st, 2008 at 10:53 am
Upper Saddle River Comp Killer!
SOLD: 19 ORATAM RD $819,000 5/10/2005
MLS#: 2813862
Orig List: $849,000 4/6/2008
SOLD: $705,000 7/31/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 10:57 am
Whoa! Another USR Comp Killer and below ‘04 pricing!
Upper Saddle River Comp Killer!
SOLD: 55 UNION AVE $950,000 9/13/2004
MLS#: 2806468
Orig List: $899,000 2/15/2008
SOLD: $750,000 7/31/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 11:02 am
“We really went downhill fast this week, I can’t imagine what the quality of discussion will be like at 3 this afternoon”
Rareh!!!
(Stu and Mr. Beer should get that reference)
August 1st, 2008 at 11:03 am
126 Rich
“Lodi Comp Killer!”
Nice! That’s a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:07 am
Doyle,
I’m alive out there. Damn propane truck, didn’t come on to close to 9:30, played to 12:50. Top shelf.
Now, off to Foxboro. I’ll be tailgating with approx 30 Red Souck fans. HAH, they’ll be crying in their beer about Manny. Hopefully, Bruce will cheer them up with Dirty Water.
To anybody attending; Enjoy Shannon Rose, great place.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:08 am
I don’t get the reference…sorry!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:10 am
I was dying to attend the GTG, especially considering that they have smithwicks and boddington on tap, but I’m stuck with the Rye guy on Saturday night.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:10 am
BC,
Jungleland { lyrics }
Born To Run { lyrics }
Bobby Jean { lyrics }
Dancing In The Dark { lyrics }
American Land { lyrics }
Jersey Girl [Tour Premiere]
Rosalita { lyrics
Insane… I got hosed.
Red Souck fans, ugh… at least the Manny jokes will be fun. Enjoy!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
Where’s all the white women at?!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:12 am
Rich [130],
20% off 2004 in USR! Not to worrry, don’t panic. Just some seismic event. Come to think of it, as Bruce states, earthshaking.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am
#134 Stu
Example of Gabby Johnson’s “authentic frontier gibberish”.
Another example: “candy@ss sidewinder”
August 1st, 2008 at 11:18 am
#137 lost
Stampeding cattle? That’s not much of an offense.
Through the Vatican?
Kinky!!!
:)
August 1st, 2008 at 11:19 am
I love that movie.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:19 am
Dumont FUTURE Comp Killer!
SOLD: 237 W MADISON AVE $250,000 12/18/2001
SOLD: 237 W MADISON AVE $375,000 10/28/2004
MLS#: 2818723 (REO)
Orig List: $379,900 8/8/2007
Last List: $289,900 7/31/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 11:19 am
‘Extreme Makeover’ house faces foreclosure
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_en_tv/tv_extreme_makeover_foreclosure
August 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Doyle,
Yeah, great setlist.
The magic rat, over that Jersey state line.
Down the shore everything’s allright.
Don’t forget Spirit and Blinded by the Light.
By the way, we have our Giant Super Bowl Champion shirts, ready to wear on the field at Gilette. Speaking of, does Tom Brady still have a sore #ss?
August 1st, 2008 at 11:21 am
Fair Lawn FUTURE Comp Killer!
SOLD: 17 READING TER $372,500 2/15/2005
MLS#: 2814431
Orig List: $379,000 4/9/2008
LastList: $369,000 8/1/2008
August 1st, 2008 at 11:23 am
The NJ Real Estate and Blazing Saddles Report.
“I’m working for Mel Brooks”
August 1st, 2008 at 11:23 am
127 jamil
“You truly are a sick human being.”
I take it you want Gitmo folded and you’re outraged at the Bush administration for eliminating the constitutional right to a writ of habeas corpus; I’m sure the use of torture makes you feel ill, and the holding of people indefinitely without the right to a trial makes you want to vomit.
I’m sure that the fact that the targets of the Anthrax attacks were (a) every network other than FOX and (b) Democrats, despite the fact that they were in the minority, doesn’t have anything to do your spirited defense of this killer.
I’m sure the fact that the Anthrax attacks were used as an excuse for the Iraq invasion doesn’t have anything to do your spirited defense of this killer.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92270&page=1
“second test of the anthrax-laced letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle points to the presence of a troubling chemical additive, sources tell ABCNEWS.
…
As far as is known, only one country, Iraq, has used bentonite to produce biological weapons, but officials caution that the presence of the chemical alone does not constitute firm evidence of Iraqi involvement.”
Wow - where d’ya think they got that titillating bit of information?
Oddly, some people knew about the attacks in advance - like journalist Richard Cohen (remember how hard it was to get Cipro? We let 8 postal workers in NJ die because it was in short supply?):
http://www.slate.com/id/2186766/
“The attacks were not entirely unexpected. I had been told soon after Sept. 11 to secure Cipro, the antidote to anthrax. The tip had come in a roundabout way from a high government official, and I immediately acted on it. I was carrying Cipro way before most people had ever heard of it.”
At least in this instance, I have the excuse that Mrs. Patient was in Tom Daschle’s office the day his staff opened the Anthrax letter. Our insurer refused to provide Cipro well, and the only reason she’s alive now is that she happened to be close with a certain public health officer who made it happen.
What excuse do you have for your rank hypocrisy?
There’s a stench around you.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
127 jamil
“You truly are a sick human being.”
I take it you want Gitmo folded and you’re outraged at the Bush administration for eliminating the constitutional right to a writ of habeas corpus; I’m sure the use of torture makes you feel ill, and the holding of people indefinitely without the right to a trial makes you want to vomit.
I’m sure that the fact that the targets of the Anthrax attacks were (a) every network other than FOX and (b) Democrats, despite the fact that they were in the minority, doesn’t have anything to do your spirited defense of this killer.
I’m sure the fact that the Anthrax attacks were used as an excuse for the Iraq invasion doesn’t have anything to do your spirited defense of this killer.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92270&page=1
“second test of the anthrax-laced letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle points to the presence of a troubling chemical additive, sources tell ABCNEWS.
…
As far as is known, only one country, Iraq, has used bentonite to produce biological weapons, but officials caution that the presence of the chemical alone does not constitute firm evidence of Iraqi involvement.”
Wow - where d’ya think they got that titillating bit of information?
[more]
August 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
jamil 127
Oddly, some people knew about the attacks in advance - like journalist Richard Cohen (remember how hard it was to get Cipro? We let 8 postal workers in NJ die because it was in short supply?):
http://www.slate.com/id/2186766/
“The attacks were not entirely unexpected. I had been told soon after Sept. 11 to secure Cipro, the antidote to anthrax. The tip had come in a roundabout way from a high government official, and I immediately acted on it. I was carrying Cipro way before most people had ever heard of it.”
At least in this instance, I have the excuse that Mrs. Patient was in Tom Daschle’s office the day his staff opened the Anthrax letter. Our insurer refused to provide Cipro well, and the only reason she’s alive now is that she happened to be close with a certain public health officer who made it happen.
What excuse do you have for your rank hypocrisy?
There’s a stench around you.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
[95] patient
“This is an important skill”
I am a professional. Don’t try this at home.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
jamil 127
Oddly, some people knew about the attacks in advance - like journalist Richard Cohen (remember how hard it was to get Cipro? We let 8 postal workers in NJ die because it was in short supply?):
http://www.slate.com/id/2186766/
“The attacks were not entirely unexpected. I had been told soon after Sept. 11 to secure Cipro, the antidote to anthrax. The tip had come in a roundabout way from a high government official, and I immediately acted on it. I was carrying Cipro way before most people had ever heard of it.”
August 1st, 2008 at 11:27 am
146 Nom
OK, Nom we can get back to RE:
“There’s no avoiding this conclusion, our town is turning into sh*t…”
:)
August 1st, 2008 at 11:27 am
127 jamil
At least in this instance, I have the excuse that Mrs. Patient was in Tom Daschle’s office the day his staff opened the Anthrax letter. Our insurer refused to provide Cipro well, and the only reason she’s alive now is that she happened to be close with a certain public health officer who made it happen.
What excuse do you have for your rank hypocrisy?
There’s a stench around you.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:28 am
Oddly, some people knew about the attacks in advance - like journalist Richard Cohen (remember how hard it was to get C*pro? We let 8 postal workers in NJ die because it was in short supply?):
http://www.slate.com/id/2186766/
“The attacks were not entirely unexpected. I had been told soon after Sept. 11 to secure C*pro, the antidote to anthrax. The tip had come in a roundabout way from a high government official, and I immediately acted on it. I was carrying C*pro way before most people had ever heard of it.”
At least in this instance, I have the excuse that Mrs. Patient was in Tom D*schle’s office the day his staff opened the Anthrax letter. Our insurer refused to provide C*pro well, and the only reason she’s alive now is that she happened to be close with a certain public health officer who made it happen.
What excuse do you have for your rank hypocrisy?
There’s a stench around you.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
grim - c*pro goes to moderation??
August 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
Clotpoll Says:
August 1st, 2008 at 10:00 am
patient (85)- Yeah, it doesn’t ring true. The accurate voice is sort of an Andrew Dice Clay/Bob Guccione hybrid.
clot: doesn’t Guccione have a gold-plated toilet bowl?
August 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
[147] Patient,
To me, this suicide proves little. From what I read, Ivins sounded like he was wired a bit too tight to begin with, and was looking at forced retirement which was supposedly depressing him bigtime. Couple that with seeing the public drawing and quartering that Hatfill got (and thinking it could come his way) and you have the recipe for excedrin headache .357.
Innocent until proven guilty is what we were taught. To me, there is just as much evidence that he was going to snap anyway as there is suggesting guilt.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
feel free to delete the moderated posts (took awhile to figure out what the trigger was).
August 1st, 2008 at 11:31 am
Nom
“Innocent until proven guilty is what we were taught.”
I agree with this. Having a personal closeness to the matter makes me feel a little less pleasant about it.
I am glad that jamil feels that terrorist suspects should have full due process rights under the constitution.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:33 am
237 W Madison, Dumont
For reference, the judgment on that property was $411,926.16 and I think the auction was in may 2007. I didn’t start tracking properties on my site back then. That’s only 10% off judgment which is less than what I’ve been seeing lately.
124 W. Madison Av, Dumont, NJ is also being foreclosed.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:33 am
142 Rich
Holy smoke!
LISTED at 25% below 2004!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:34 am
This is the 2nd house from Extreme Makeover lost to foreclosure. I read on another board that a great idea for a show. “Extreme Foreclosure”. We’ll profile every family that was on Extreme Makeover.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:35 am
njpatient: Don’t give me this crap about habeas corpus and Fox. In WW2 under Dem leadership, we had people (both citizens and POWS) locked up in the US without habeas corpus and spies were executed without trial lawyers.
I don’t know about this guy but given the incompetence of FBI and the treatment of Dr Hatfill, I would be a bit hesitant of celebrating a suicide of another scientist. As for Gitmo sickos, I have little sympathy for them. The ones who have been released have ended in blowing up themselves and others in various places.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:35 am
“I’ll be tailgating with approx 30 Red Souck fans. HAH, they’ll be crying in their beer about Manny.”
Great trade, says this Yankee fan.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:35 am
139 Mr. Beer
“Example of Gabby Johnson’s “authentic frontier gibberish”.”
Ding!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:36 am
NJP & Bob (132 & 138),
And all this is from the daily Hot Sheet; I’m not scouring every listing.
The best is when I get comments like “that house is on a bad street”, “it’s in a crappy town”, etc.
It was a bad street and/or a crappy town last year and all the years before.
But from my recent experience gleaning over these daily sales and price changes, it doesn’t matter what street, neighborhood, town, burg or village. I’m seeing losses and short sales EVERYWHERE.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:36 am
[160]
“says this Yankee fan.”
Yankee fan???
NO SCOTCH FOR YOU.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:37 am
lost
“I love that movie.”
what a flick. Maybe we put it in the NJREReport movie hall of fame along with our previous inductee, “The Princess Bride”.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:37 am
“NO SCOTCH FOR YOU.”
D’oh!!
August 1st, 2008 at 11:37 am
njp,
yep, lots of c!pro spammers.
hey, you know, i still have a bottle in my fridge from my last trip to mexico.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:38 am
164
I nominate Caddyshack
“I tell ya, golf courses and cemeteries are the biggest waste of real estate.”
August 1st, 2008 at 11:39 am
Tom (156),
It hasn’t sold yet.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:40 am
Rich
“It was a bad street and/or a crappy town last year and all the years before”
I love this one.
Like the NJ town that’s “close to Manhattan”. Well, it was close to Manhattan before you arrived, and will be close to Manhattan after you leave. How does a constant factor explain recent price changes?!? Was Weehawken crawling ever closer to Manhattan for the past decade? Did Weehawken used to be in Bucks County??
It’s really just a subset of the “I’m so smart” fairy tale.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:41 am
Nom
What about “The Holy Grail”
“She’s beautiful, she’s rich, she’s got huge… tracts of land”
August 1st, 2008 at 11:44 am
Is “Lipstick on a pig” the more over-used phrase in this credit crisis?
August 1st, 2008 at 11:44 am
Anyone looking for info and advice on the local Jersey Shore market, check out http://www.yournjrealestate.com and his blog too. There is a lot of good information there.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:45 am
163 jamil
The difference between you and me is that I have principals. These principals allow me to say that the US concentration camps in WWII were wrong, that Korematsu v. US is right up there with Dred Scott among our most wrongheaded and sickening Supreme Court decisions, and that although I have a visceral reaction to the Anthrax terrorist attack because it affected me personally, it’s still wrong, as Nom eloquently pointed out and you pointed out like a petulant third-grader, to deny the fundamental right of due process.
You, on the other hand, seem to decide whether a person is entitled to a determination of guilt or innocence based on the color of their skin.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:46 am
jamil
“Don’t give me this crap about habeas corpus”
That says everything.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:46 am
Speaking of Scotch; Grim and I nearly polished off a nice bottle of Macallan last nite… smooooooth
August 1st, 2008 at 11:48 am
168 Rich,
“It hasn’t sold yet.”
Was just pointing out that I’ve seen foreclosures go for cheaper at auction so anyone interested might be able to lowball. Back when it was up for bid, it probably didn’t get much attention and the banks might not have been allowing the discounts I’m seeing now.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:48 am
Nearly?
Keep trying girls.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:48 am
Patient
I’m with you- inductee #2.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:48 am
Tom,
I hear ya.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:50 am
oil ever closer to $40
August 1st, 2008 at 11:53 am
Real men drink beer
August 1st, 2008 at 11:53 am
Speaking of Scotch; Grim and I nearly polished off a nice bottle of Macallan last nite… smooooooth
Give some credit, another hour or so and the rest would have just evaporated.
Tasty though.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:58 am
…and the number shall be three! No less… no more…. but three!
August 1st, 2008 at 12:00 pm
[170]
“What is the average velocity of an unladen swallow?”
August 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
By a few key strikes, I know why the quality of this board got deteriorated. here is top 10 list over 182 posts:
41 njpatient
21 grim
15 Stu
12 Rich In NNJ
10 Tom
9 willwork4beer
7 Nom Deplume
6 sas
5 Clotpoll
5 bairen
August 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Easy there, big fellas….Macallan is not meant to be “polished off” It’s meant to be savored.
Even if this “savoring” consumes the whole bottle within a 6 hour savoring session.
It should then be referred to as “A good night’s work” in savoring the best of the Speyside Highland region.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
[184],
African or European?
August 1st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
[187]
Uh. I don’t know. Aaaaaaaugh
August 1st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
# 137 I’m waiting on the Bugaboo comp killers. How many will be realizing that money would have been better applied towards a mortgage payment by now. Craigslist is loaded with ‘em for sale, so much for using them on baby #2, 3, 4 and 5.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
[185]
What??? I out-skunked John and Jamil???
Oh the shame.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
By far this is the most Grim article I have read so far.
http://www.nolanchart.com/article4339.html
If this scenario comes true, what is recommendation on, where should one keep the money? I am talking about funds where you don’t want to take lot of risk for e.g. down payment funds etc…
August 1st, 2008 at 12:16 pm
BI:
A single post from you is one too many.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:40 pm
i seriously feel like i’m reading an Opie and Anthony thread.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:42 pm
185…I am dead certain that this board has helped more people in a week than you have had hot meals Bi.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:45 pm
#185 bi
I’m in the top ten!!!!!
bi now has 2 uses on this board.
1) He is the board contrarian
2) He likes to make tables.
I didn’t know bi could count to 41. interesting that’s where he thinks oil is going too.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Has anybody mentioned yet today that jamil sucks?
August 1st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
bairen (195)-
idiot savant
August 1st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
#196 clot
I think that’s understood by the whole board.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
The reason everyone is talking nonsense here is that houses may have gotten cheaper but we still know we can’t buy yet so we are killing time.
Kinda like if someone stood outside Great Neck South with a Free Ham sign.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
“The reason everyone is talking nonsense here is that houses may have gotten cheaper but we still know we can’t buy yet so we are killing time.”
John Johnson is right!
August 1st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
It’s guido beach!
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/820861/
August 1st, 2008 at 12:59 pm
“The reason everyone is talking nonsense here is that houses may have gotten cheaper but we still know we can’t buy yet so we are killing time.
Kinda like if someone stood outside Great Neck South with a Free Ham sign.”
That sounds nothing like the other John impersonations. Next time try harder!
August 1st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
BTW sold that dog wisdom tree for enough gain to pay for some Benz parts. JC I only owned it two days and I was as nervous as a drug smugler in an airport.
Other fun things in college, crazy glue people door locks, drop 5-8 no doze tablets in the coffee grinds in the percolator and watch the people fly about. Yelling INS in stony brook libray. Driving on the grass with lights out at night looking for ope