September, 2009


22
Sep 09

How To Accidentally Throw A Furry Orgy Using Craigslist | Cracked.com

How To Accidentally Throw A Furry Orgy Using Craigslist | Cracked.com.


22
Sep 09

Your Homework: Are Banks Fixing Home Prices?

I am in the process of writing a post about the Corporate Personhood debate that’s come up with a recent Supreme Court ruling. But this morning while I was out jogging, and noticing yet another empty 3/1.75 home listed at just under a million, a thought occurred to me.

According to a number of people who know more about this stuff than I do, recent regional real-estate inventory numbers are artificially suppressed because bank-owned properties, which would normally be on the market, are not being listed to prevent “excessive supply” which would consequently drive down prices even more than they are already.

In other words, banks are only listing a small number of the homes that they have repo’d. The remainder are sitting empty, or being used for Malibu beach parties. There’s nothing wrong with that part. It is the right of a bank to do what it will with the property it owns. It is under no obligation to sell or hold individual real estate holdings.

But when all of the banks operate in concert and do this with such a large majority of the homes, doesn’t that qualify as collusion? Isn’t that kind of what OPEC tries to achieve with oil? And what deBeers used to do with diamonds?

And shouldn’t I get a second bathtub for that price?

I think the logic in this is pretty simple. It’s going to take a seriously quantum rebuttal to refute this proposal.

And no, you don’t get to go using fancy fake math on this one. I want to see all of your work and you must be able to explain it as simply as my assertion. No extra credit.


22
Sep 09

Mad Scientist: We’ll All Be Immortal Cyborgs In 20 Years. GW: In 19 Years I’m Offing Myself – Geekologie

Mad Scientist: We’ll All Be Immortal Cyborgs In 20 Years. GW: In 19 Years I’m Offing Myself – Geekologie.

Funny, I was just thinking of Kurzweil the other day. You know he has a full-time assistant who’s entire job is to keep track of and make sure he takes his supplements?


22
Sep 09

Netflix awards $1-million prize to recommendation wizards, announces 2nd contest | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Netflix awards $1-million prize to recommendation wizards, announces 2nd contest | Technology | Los Angeles Times.


19
Sep 09

WARNING

In order to avoid any breathing difficulties during high G-force acceleration, female passengers are advised to remove all tight-fitting garments.


19
Sep 09

The Homepage

http://vimeo.com/3718294

Auto Tuning from Casey Donahue on Vimeo.


18
Sep 09

Raw Story » Quietly, Sotomayor turns on corporations

“You’re not people.”

Raw Story » Quietly, Sotomayor turns on corporations.


17
Sep 09

Now That’s Nifty: Subliminal Message

Now That’s Nifty: Subliminal Message.