To Rent or Buy?
You often hear about fewer first time home buyers in the market and so forth. Some cite student loans as an issue affecting whether people buy homes. The true answer might be more simple: homes are overpriced. Student loans don't affect people's ability to eat out, buy new clothes, and consume entertainment because those things are now relatively cheap.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Worse People
This happens because the "social media generation" are a lot worse people than their ancestors.
Reality will hit them in the face soon enough. And I think there are enough people still taught values around, they just aren't as noisy.
This happens because the "social media generation" are a lot worse people than their ancestors.
Reality will hit them in the face soon enough. And I think there are enough people still taught values around, they just aren't as noisy.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Hypocrite
Zuckerberg censors photos of Muhammad on Facebook.
Which is his prerogative, of course. But what I can't stand is these corporatist pussies who pretend to be brave and then fold at the first hint of a challenge.
Zuckerberg censors photos of Muhammad on Facebook.
Which is his prerogative, of course. But what I can't stand is these corporatist pussies who pretend to be brave and then fold at the first hint of a challenge.
Something To Think About
The world population today is over 7 billion. I can remember when it was 4 billion. In 1990, India had 889 million people, in 2008, it has 1.14 billion.
So in 20 years, it was sort of like India grew an Indonesia (the 4th biggest country on the planet).
Guess that explains why Obama just visited.
The world population today is over 7 billion. I can remember when it was 4 billion. In 1990, India had 889 million people, in 2008, it has 1.14 billion.
So in 20 years, it was sort of like India grew an Indonesia (the 4th biggest country on the planet).
Guess that explains why Obama just visited.
Demographics Is Destiny
Japanese people are not interested in sex and this is bad for the global economy.
I can see this as a problem for advanced, industrial, secular states with technology fetishes. Then again, Japan seems like a pretty singular and unique culture.
Japanese people are not interested in sex and this is bad for the global economy.
I can see this as a problem for advanced, industrial, secular states with technology fetishes. Then again, Japan seems like a pretty singular and unique culture.
Insanity
Occupy the syllabus.
The course syllabus employed a standardized canon of theory that began with Plato and Aristotle, then jumped to modern philosophers: Hobbes, Locke, Hegel, Marx, Weber and Foucault, all of whom are white men. The syllabus did not include a single woman or person of color. We have major concerns about social theory courses in which white men are the only authors assigned.
These courses pretend that a minuscule fraction of humanity — economically privileged white males from five imperial countries (England, France, Germany, Italy and the United States) — are the only people to produce valid knowledge about the world. This is absurd. The white male syllabus excludes all knowledge produced outside this standardized canon, silencing the perspectives of the other 99 percent of humanity.The strange thing about folks who take such positions: no one is stopping them from studying different cultures and thinkers. Shit, they can read any book they want. But why would they insist on changing the course material for this particular class? Because they're instincts are totalitarian. No wonder they empathize with Islamic Fundamentalists.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Logging
Film: Goodbye to Language
This feels like the first new Godard film anyone has talked about in awhile. Some critics lauded it as the best film of the year. The Aero was packed. And the film was insufferable. The parts the audience enjoyed the best were shots of his dog rolling around in snow, an image which could be found by anyone shooting a home video. I'm shocked anyone can call this a great film or an important film. It seems so disconnected from life as lived by human beings, or any type of joy in the cinematic experience, I don't know what to say. I kinda wonder what Bazin would think.
Film: Goodbye to Language
This feels like the first new Godard film anyone has talked about in awhile. Some critics lauded it as the best film of the year. The Aero was packed. And the film was insufferable. The parts the audience enjoyed the best were shots of his dog rolling around in snow, an image which could be found by anyone shooting a home video. I'm shocked anyone can call this a great film or an important film. It seems so disconnected from life as lived by human beings, or any type of joy in the cinematic experience, I don't know what to say. I kinda wonder what Bazin would think.
Davos
Ouch.
All right, you say, but surely it’s useful for powerful people to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s mistakes. Well, yes; but this lot rarely seem to learn. Whatever the problem, their preferred solution is always to establish a global bureaucracy staffed by people like themselves. Obviously, they don’t put it like that. “The stability of the global economy” is a much prettier phrase than “a juicy public sector post for me”.
It’s like an Ayn Rand novel, where lobbyists reach cosy arrangements with each other in elliptical language. Remember the way she described members of a company board? “Men whose careers depended on keeping their faces bland, their remarks inconclusive and their clothes immaculate”. That’s Davos.
If only these men really were as clever as they thought. Or, to be more precise, if only their cleverness translated into making good decisions. In fact, Davos Man consistently gets the big calls wrong. In the 1970s, he was for prices and incomes policies. In the 1980s, he was for the ERM. In the 1990s, he was for the euro. In the 2000s, he was for the bank bailouts.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Deflategate
I feel like the only one who finds this absurd and kind of humorous. I think most sports "issues" ought to be framed as "it's just a game." It really isn't about integrity and legacy and all this stuff. It's a game we watch. And the football inflation level doesn't strike me as vital or important. I don't even understand why there is a rule. I've played soccer, bball, and football casually and competitively throughout my life and it sort of just seems like common sense the level at which the balls are inflated. I'm not fan of the Patriots, but that the world is beating up Tom Brady over THIS, is absurd to me.
I feel like the only one who finds this absurd and kind of humorous. I think most sports "issues" ought to be framed as "it's just a game." It really isn't about integrity and legacy and all this stuff. It's a game we watch. And the football inflation level doesn't strike me as vital or important. I don't even understand why there is a rule. I've played soccer, bball, and football casually and competitively throughout my life and it sort of just seems like common sense the level at which the balls are inflated. I'm not fan of the Patriots, but that the world is beating up Tom Brady over THIS, is absurd to me.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
ESPN Deflategate
The best comedy of the year, watching Tom Brady trying to explain deflategate. He's lying his ass off and not doing it well. Belichick was much better, not taking the reporters bait and dismissing and mocking "air inflation of the football."
It made me like Belichick more and Brady less. Brady should just own it and say, yeah, I like a little deflated football. So what?
The best comedy of the year, watching Tom Brady trying to explain deflategate. He's lying his ass off and not doing it well. Belichick was much better, not taking the reporters bait and dismissing and mocking "air inflation of the football."
It made me like Belichick more and Brady less. Brady should just own it and say, yeah, I like a little deflated football. So what?
Cheap Oil
Most people think Saudi Arabia is depressing oil prices to drive North American frackers out of business. Who will blink first?
I'd bet on the frackers long term. Any economy utterly dependent on one product isn't particularly resilient, although as the Saudi's have proven, can be an irritant.
Most people think Saudi Arabia is depressing oil prices to drive North American frackers out of business. Who will blink first?
I'd bet on the frackers long term. Any economy utterly dependent on one product isn't particularly resilient, although as the Saudi's have proven, can be an irritant.
529 Tax Plan
Obama plans to tax 529 tax plans which were tax-free growth vehicles to pay for college. This basically renders them useless, if I understand correctly.
At the risk of sounding like some sort of militia person, it isn't clear to me why the Federal government has any involvement with colleges. Why is the Fed in the business of student financial aid in the first place? I can see the Feds giving out grants for awesome students of low need or to encourage study in important industries, but as far as I can tell, the loans have led to bloated tuition and a lot terrible debt, without any corresponding improvement to the education of Americans. In fact, I suspect college degrees of yesteryear were more rigorous than today just by my casual observation of students.
Also, this makes me think the Roth IRA is not safe.
Obama plans to tax 529 tax plans which were tax-free growth vehicles to pay for college. This basically renders them useless, if I understand correctly.
At the risk of sounding like some sort of militia person, it isn't clear to me why the Federal government has any involvement with colleges. Why is the Fed in the business of student financial aid in the first place? I can see the Feds giving out grants for awesome students of low need or to encourage study in important industries, but as far as I can tell, the loans have led to bloated tuition and a lot terrible debt, without any corresponding improvement to the education of Americans. In fact, I suspect college degrees of yesteryear were more rigorous than today just by my casual observation of students.
Also, this makes me think the Roth IRA is not safe.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Why Are We Not Fighting ISIS?
They aim to control Mecca.
They are so obviously a threat to the world, I fail to see how the UN, US, or NATO is not out there with troops on the ground shooting at these guys. Don't we have a Congress? Don't they have a right to declare war?
They aim to control Mecca.
They are so obviously a threat to the world, I fail to see how the UN, US, or NATO is not out there with troops on the ground shooting at these guys. Don't we have a Congress? Don't they have a right to declare war?
Irony
I didn't listen to the State of the Union, but it seems Obama plans to change some tax rules that'll hit blue staters (ie Bay Area, NYC, LA) pretty hard. Here it is:
A costly vote.
I didn't listen to the State of the Union, but it seems Obama plans to change some tax rules that'll hit blue staters (ie Bay Area, NYC, LA) pretty hard. Here it is:
Estates get what's known as a "stepped-up basis" on assets -- meaning that when you inherit a house from Mom and Dad and later sell it, you're taxed on the difference between the value at the time you inherited it (your basis) and the value at the time you sell it. Obama proposes to use the price your parents paid as the basis, though the first $200,000 is exempted, and there's an additional $500,000 exemption for homes.Being from the Bay Area, all these folks who I grew up with (the vast majority who probably voted for Obama), this will result in taxes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Houses that were bought for 100G in the 1970s are now worth 2 million. This is the difference between paying zero and $300,000 in taxes on inheritance.
A costly vote.
Podcasting
Discovered Dave Ramsey via Brian Koppelman podcast. Koppelman puts it nicely towards the end with their interview when he says (paraphrase), "I'm a New York Jewish liberal, and you seem like the last person I'd enjoy listening to, but I find your message so positive and uplifting and you're just one of my favorite guys."
So I took a gander. I'd heard of him through Megan McArdle, who totally goes by his system. His big, huge, mega point is to get people out of debt. He does personal finance seminars, advises no debt except a 15-year mortgage, and comes at it as "God's and Grandma's ideas about money." He has an interesting personal story about making six figures and owning 3 million dollars in a mini-real estate empire by age 26, but when his bank got sold, he ended up getting all his notes called, and was soon bankrupt and terrified.
I really like the podcast. Basically, he just takes calls from people with finance questions. And they run the gamut. The advice isn't particularly insightful. It is everything a smart person should know already - save more than you spend, don't go into debt, etc. The one big idea he advocates that I presently not do is give to charity. And it's got me thinking about it. What I enjoy about the show is the honesty and positive message and the humor. He speaks candidly about the subject of money with people - a subject everyone has an opinion and issues with, but something that is not discussed in "regular" conversation. It gets at many core values and illuminates larger points about what is important in life. I quite enjoy it.
Discovered Dave Ramsey via Brian Koppelman podcast. Koppelman puts it nicely towards the end with their interview when he says (paraphrase), "I'm a New York Jewish liberal, and you seem like the last person I'd enjoy listening to, but I find your message so positive and uplifting and you're just one of my favorite guys."
So I took a gander. I'd heard of him through Megan McArdle, who totally goes by his system. His big, huge, mega point is to get people out of debt. He does personal finance seminars, advises no debt except a 15-year mortgage, and comes at it as "God's and Grandma's ideas about money." He has an interesting personal story about making six figures and owning 3 million dollars in a mini-real estate empire by age 26, but when his bank got sold, he ended up getting all his notes called, and was soon bankrupt and terrified.
I really like the podcast. Basically, he just takes calls from people with finance questions. And they run the gamut. The advice isn't particularly insightful. It is everything a smart person should know already - save more than you spend, don't go into debt, etc. The one big idea he advocates that I presently not do is give to charity. And it's got me thinking about it. What I enjoy about the show is the honesty and positive message and the humor. He speaks candidly about the subject of money with people - a subject everyone has an opinion and issues with, but something that is not discussed in "regular" conversation. It gets at many core values and illuminates larger points about what is important in life. I quite enjoy it.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Horrible Super Bowl...
...for a Niners fan. If the Pats win, Brady matches Montana for SB Wins. I'm gonna have to listen to bullshit arguments how Brady is the best QB of all time, rather than a guy who lucked into the coach of his generation and got a lucky-ass break with the Tuck rule. If the PEDHawks win, oye. We're going to have deal with those insufferable fans for a long, long time and smug, overrated Russell Wilson being considered a great QB. I think the Seahawks, however, won't succeed much after this year as the team grows older and Wilson needs to get paid. Without Lynch, they have zero elite offensive players and will struggle.
...for a Niners fan. If the Pats win, Brady matches Montana for SB Wins. I'm gonna have to listen to bullshit arguments how Brady is the best QB of all time, rather than a guy who lucked into the coach of his generation and got a lucky-ass break with the Tuck rule. If the PEDHawks win, oye. We're going to have deal with those insufferable fans for a long, long time and smug, overrated Russell Wilson being considered a great QB. I think the Seahawks, however, won't succeed much after this year as the team grows older and Wilson needs to get paid. Without Lynch, they have zero elite offensive players and will struggle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)