Why I Live In Boston

Someone posted on a blog calling Boston a "rathole" and wanting one good reason why someone would want to live there...here's my response:

Um let's see because it's got:

* all 4 professional sports represented, 2 of whom won their championships within the last 2 years
* more culture & arts than 90% of the rest of the country
* all 4 seasons, and fall in New England is more beautiful than what anywhere but California can provide
* beautiful country-side for hiking, apple-picking, skiing, white-water rafting all 30 minutes or less away
* world class colleges & universites (with the bonus of all of the cute college girls circling around town)
* world class dining & foods (new england clam chowder, lobster, baked beans, etc)
* it's the best city in the US for walking around because everything's easy to get to
* it's still has one of the cheapest public transportation systems in the US
* the history here surrounds you and gives a sense of uniqueness that won't ever be captured by the cookie-cutter, corporate cities like Austin or Houston
* it's not filled with close-minded religious wing-nuts like vast sections of the south & midwest
* the economy is still better with it's hits than the rust belt or the south, and with all the universities and biotech located here, it's likely to do better in the next couple of decades

So yeah there are lots of good reasons to live in this "rathole"

Frankly I LOVE this town and would rather live here than all but a handful of places in the country. I had lived in other parts of the country, and once I moved here I just knew I probably wouldn't be moving away. I finally felt like I was "home".

Turning into an old man

I really am turning into an old man. Now I'm sending angry letters to the editor, like this one:

What is with this article:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/06/01/patrick_could_pitch_shutout/

I read the Globe because it's always been a paper that has high standards and excellent writing. This article is the worst writing I've ever seen in any paper in my life, let alone a paper that is supposed to be as high quality as the Globe.

If any 5th grader had handed this in as an essay they would have failed. I actually feel stupider having read this crap passed off as an article.

This article is even worse than the most amatuerish of blogs. The Globe should be ashamed to have published this article, and the writer should give back whatever he was paid to write this article.

If this is the direction that the Globe is going, then I will be cancelling my subscription.

Funniest Comic about Marriage EVER!

I could see the conversation going down EXACTLY like this with any number of my friends.....I'll leave it up to you to figure out which guy I am:

http://www.cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20060215

Coolest Wedding Idea Ever

Tell me that this wouldn't be the coolest thing to have a wedding ever? Especially since with my friends it would end up being a total Teddy Bear War:

Stop Or I'll Shoot the Bear!

Bored Again

Because I'm bored again you get stuck with another stupid lil survey result. It's interesting in how these always seem to have just enough "nuggets of truth" to make the seem worthwhile....like good horoscopes that are vague enough to be accurate (unless you're Dirk Gently)

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart. In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored. You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Funniest Satire EVER!

I'm not sure how many of you have heard about this, but Steven Colbert simply ANNIHALATED Bush & the Mainstream Media at the WH Press Corp dinner. Everyone who appreciates good comedy, or who is fed up with the current direction of our country should check it out.

http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/wordpress/

So Sick of Fundies

I am so ever living sick of your "typical" Christian Fundamentalist. I got another stupid rasict forward about how immigrants need to conform to America, and accept God because our country, and our culture is based on God. Below is the HUGE rant I sent (which I probably shouldn't have since it was my GF's mother that sent the letter, but wahtever, I know I've told them and my GF has re-iterated, that I'm not religious at ALL, so don't forward that shit to me and I won't respond by shattering your fragile little Jesus world)

================
BEGIN RANT

Actually just to correct some factual errors in this email:

1.) The country was founded by Diests, not Christians. They believed in A God & Higher Power, just not necessarily the Christian god. Specifically:

- Thomas Jefferson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_jefferson#Religious_views)
- Ben Franklin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin#Religious_beliefs)
- John Adams
- Thomas Paine
- James Madison

2.) The US Declaration of Independance & Constitution are extensively based upon the political and social philosophy known as "Social Contract Theory" which specifically enumerates the obligations a government has to its citizens. The single biggest writer at the time espousing this view point was John Locke, a Unitarian, who in his "2nd Treatise on Government" specifically argued that all men had the rights to "life, liberty & property" (sound familiar?). This theory was of course an extension of the thoughs put forward by Plato in "The Republic" which predates Christianity by 390 years or so.

3.) The United States as NO official language. No where in ANY US law is it stipulated that all business must be conducted in English. Until that time, English is simply the de facto national language because it's the one spoken by the majority. Specifically in the 2000 census, it was recorded that 1 in 5 people live in a non-english speaking household. Multi-culturalism

4.) There is NO war on Christmas. The very idiot who railed about this (Bill O'reily) had on his OWN website "Season's Greetings".

First of all to say there is a "war" on a freakin holiday simply because people are asked to be POLITE (not politically correct) by using the term Season's Greetings, is an insult to the millions of people who have died, been maimed, or lost their homes in a REAL war.

Having someone say "Season's Greetings" isn't political correctness it's simply being polite. If you know nothing about me, what religion I belong to, or even IF I believe in a religion, then it is a nice way of recognizing whatever winter event I might celebrate (Hannakah, Ramadan, Sahaim, etc).

Secondly, what other religion has their most sacred day as a NATIONAL holiday? Do we all get off Yom Kippor, the Summer Solstice, Ramadan, or any other religion's holiday off? NO. Only Christians are the ones that are so "blessed"

4.) "In God We Trust" wasn't added to the US Coin Currency until 1864 during the Civil War, almost 100 years after our country was founded. In addition, it disappeared from currency for almost 55 years from 1883 - 1938.

It wasn't added to paper currency until 1956, the same year it became the country's motto, replacing "E Pluibus Unum" (out of many we are one)

5.) Another justification that has tranditionally been used, but wasn't present in this "article" was "under god" being in the pledge of allegence. But that phrase wasn't added until 1954, spurred on by the Knight of Columbus (a Catholic Fraternal organization).

It's important to remember that all of this "God"-ifying was happening at the time of the Red Scare and Joe McCarthy's Anti-American hearings (summer of 1954) where we were fighting the "godless" communists.

6.) Around 43% of the US classifies themself as either "spiritual but not religious" or "neither spiritual nor religious" (2002 USA/Gallup Poll). The US culture is NOT one of God. This is NEVER what America has stood for.

Instead America was founded and people have fought and DIED for the ability for us to have WHATEVER views we want on whatever subject. To say that if we don't accept "God" that we should leave the country is to be ignorant and disrespectful to everyone who has given their life to protect the freedoms outlined in our constitution.

7.) Instead of "Christians" worrying about fictional wars on Christmas, or of gay people being able to marry or raise kids, or any ways they'd like to restrict other peoples rights so that we're forced to live by their moral codes, perhaps they should go and read the New Testament again and start living like Jesus preached to them that they should:

- Feed the Hungry
- Clothe the poor
- Build houses for the homeless
- Protect the weak

You know what, I'll start listening to Christians on how I should live my life, once they step up to the plate and feed, clothe, shelter and care for every homeless CHILD in America. I'm not even saying that have to solve it worldwide, or even all of the adults, lets simply take care of those who are too weak to help themselves. If they do that, then they can come and lecture to me about working on Sundays, or drinking alcohol, or having premartial sex, or whatever else their Dogma says I'll go to hell for.

Until then, they're simply hypocrites trying to make the laws of this country adhere to their faith, and there's another group that has that same mission....the Illotlahs in Iran. Maybe they should get together.

If you don't want to hear this type of crap from me in the future, then don't send me stuff that will provoke this response.

END RANT
=========

Housing Market

This is a comment I left over at The Massachusetts Housing Market

Dave's 10 Ten List on Why Housing Will Crash:

1.) Massachussetts unemployment is higher than the national average. We lost something like 2 million jobs after the DotCom crash and we're still haven't gained all of those back.

2.) Massachussetts is one of the two WORST states for losing population (the other being NY). The majority of that population is in the 25-35 demographic, i.e. your typical first time buyers. Just wait until the retirement boom happens and all the grey hairs leave for Florida, South Carolina and Arizona. We'll be hemmoraging population at that point.

3.) ~6 months of inventory is considers a "balanced" market. A "buyers" market is considered around ~7-8 months of inventory. Over the last couple of years Mass has been at ~4-5 months of inventory. It should be EXTREMELY worrisome that we're approaching ~11.5 months of inventory. This isn't just a buyer's market, this is a bloodbath waiting to happen.

4.) We're already one of the highest places to live only behind CA & NY. Estimates put the current housing market at 20-30% overvalued.

5.) Housing markets have typically been "affordable" historically when cost of a house is 3x annual income. Massachussetts is sitting at 5.5-6 times annual income currently.

6.) Market fundamentals for the housing industry is the rental ratio, i.e. if you had to rent it out what could you get versus what your mortage is. In a "sound" market a house should be worth around 10 times what it can rent for a month. Current market prices are well over 20 times what a place could rent out for. Prices are no longer tied to market fundamentals but to speculation about future returns. Sound familiar? This is the same exact thing that happened with the stock market bubble when prices got divorced from P/E ratios and were based on "future earnings".

7.) Incomes have been flat for the past 3 years.

8.) Foreclosures in Massachussetts have shot up over 100% in the last two years.

9.) The buying frenzy was supported by historically low intrest rates, and exotic mortages (ARMs, 0% down, no document loans, etc). The majority of these loans are set to adjust in the next two years (a couple billion this year, and $1.7 TRILLION next year). The adjustments on these loans are likely to mean thousands of dollar differences in mortage payments.

10.) The REAL year over year price declines for SFH have come at a time when the Real Estate industry was claiming that real estate NEVER goes down in value, and that it's a solid investment.

These are FACTS, there is no "truthiness" behind the fact that prices are in decline.

Random Thought While Waiting For the Bus

Do you think motorcycle cops make fun of bike cops?

Bad Start to the Day

Is there any worse start to a day then walking out of your house and just missing the bus, not once, not twice, but three times?

Admittedly I was pushing it by trying to make the first one, as the bus usually shows up 3 minutes or so after it leaves Oak Square, and it was a good 7 or 8 minutes past when I walked out the door.

So I went inside, logged into work, and started sending out some emails when I suddenly notice it's a couple of minutes after the bus should show, I grab my bag and dash out the door, get halfway down the steps and see the bus is already down under the bridge.

So I go back inside and log back in and run some tests, when again I notice that it's very close to time for the bus to leave, another dash out the door, and this time I get all the way to the bottom of our steps and I notice the bus at the corner (about 20 feet away from me). I wave my hand as I start to run towards it, but the bus driver wasn't looking and it took off down the street.

Luckily for me I watched the clock alot closer and was able to get out there in time for the bus the fourth time.

While on the bus, I saw one of the regulars get on the bus. Now this kid is a "cool" kid, always with the sunglasses on, the leather jacket, and the 100% slicked hair. I mean Pat Riley slicked. You could use this hair to stop bullets kinda of hard. Now this morning, this kid must have been running late too, because there was a HUGE gob of hair gel in one section of his hair. I mean "Something About Mary" hairgel kinda of incident. So much so that my mind immediately flashes with the thought to say something completely inappropriate like "Running late because you had to service a guy this morning huh?", but wisely I refrain. Now, this guy gets on 4 stops after me, and there's another 20 minutes or so of bus ride left until we get to Central Square. So I'm sitting there for 20 minutes wondering, what's the proper protocol for a situation like this. This guy and I have ridden the bus together semi-regularly for like 3 months, but in that time we've never talked, heck we've never even exchanged the typical man grunt, and imperceptable head nod greeting. So it's not like I can be like "um dude, you got a gob of gel in your hair". But at the same time this guy is gonna be hella embarrassed when he tries to mack of some hottie at school, and she laughs at him. Ultimately I decided the best course of action was inaction, mainly because I hate talking to people, and I figured it was a small form of justice for all the nerds to let the "cool" kid get knocked down a peg.

Because I'm uncreative

Was browsing a bunch of friend's livejournals and because I'm entirely uncreative here are a bunch of somewhat interesting quiz results (btw these quiz engines generate some of the worst HTML I've ever seen. If I had more time or patience I'd clean it up but I'm feeling very lazy right now):

You scored as Satanism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism. Satanism 92% atheism 67% Buddhism 67% agnosticism 63% Christianity 38% Islam 33% Paganism 25% Hinduism 13% Judaism 13% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Kantianism. Your life is guided by the ethical model of Kantianism: You seek to have consistent laws rule your actions, and your will is directed by reason. "I do not, therefore, need any penetrating acuteness to see what I have to do in order that my volition be morally good. Inexperienced in the course of the world, incapable of being prepared for whatever might come to pass in it, I ask myself only: can you also will that your maxim become a universal law?" --Immanuel Kant More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Kantianism 95% Existentialism 95% Hedonism 80% Strong Egoism 60% Justice (Fairness) 60% Utilitarianism 55% Nihilism 25% Apathy 10% Divine Command 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

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