prev <-> next
[2006-09-21 12:35:16] - dave: i understand what you're saying, but i'm not sure why it's amusing. i think some terms are accurate and some are misnomers. ~a
[2006-09-21 12:33:54] - xpovos: i can do whatever drugs i want or i can do whatever i want with my own body, in my own home, as long as it doesn't involve any guns. ~a
[2006-09-21 12:33:34] - xpovos: ok. i understand. the usage in the context of abortion, it's just fine. but if you look at the overall picture, many people have their own hypocracy. i can take the life of a cow or the life of a death row inmate, but i can't take the life of a potential humanoid. ~a
[2006-09-21 12:26:34] - a: it's amusing that you're arguing about whether "pro-choice" is inaccurate or not. As your re-wording of those three issues shows, it's not really about one term or another being inaccurate, it's about the slight connotations that might go along with the wording -dave
[2006-09-21 12:22:07] - a: Nothing. Nor is there anything in-accurate about the term "pro-life". Except that most people who are pro-choice are opposed to many choices, the choice to own a gun, for a common example; while pro-life people are frequently in favor of the death penalty or other similar issues. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 12:14:25] - xpovos: i know i've had this argument many times before, but what's inaccurate about the term "pro-choice"? ~a
[2006-09-21 11:39:59] - a: sorry, i guess i didn't post a link. this was where it came from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092002048.html -dave
[2006-09-21 11:25:45] - I would be more interested in the price of townhouses or the like. -Paul
[2006-09-21 11:25:35] - a: At least "abortion rights" and "abortion control" are more accurate terms than "pro-life" and "pro-choice". -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 11:25:16] - http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2595975&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2 Tiger pissed -dave
[2006-09-21 11:21:53] - "abortion control: for. Or gun rights: for. Or marriage bias: very much for."? ~a
[2006-09-21 11:19:26] - dave: i'd be more interested in the average house price in the second and third quadrants. ~a
[2006-09-21 11:18:15] - dave: I am horribly offended that a politician is espousing his views during a campaign season! -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 11:12:18] - stat probably gives -dave
[2006-09-21 11:11:53] - a: no metric is perfect, but it's also true that the stat probably give a decent idea of the underlying trend -dave
[2006-09-21 11:10:31] - kentucky democratic candidate: "In fact, he rarely goes more than a few sentences without mentioning his military career. He's eager also to share his views on abortion rights: opposed. Or gun control: opposed. Or same-sex marriage: very much opposed." -dave
[2006-09-21 11:09:21] - i understand why they use median house instead of mean house, but studying the median house can have its drawbacks too. for example, if a bunch of houses that cost 400k are built, then the median house changes to a cheaper house even if the price of houses are going up. ~a
[2006-09-21 11:03:18] - more useless speculation. ~a
[2006-09-21 10:52:20] - paul: from an investment perspective at least -dave
[2006-09-21 10:52:11] - paul: that article is actually quite useful to me. I would have figured maybe they would go down some in the short term, but return to decent profitability over the longterm. 3% over 10 years is rather prohibitive for buying a house -dave
[2006-09-21 10:50:56] - paul: yeah I did -dave
[2006-09-21 10:38:18] - Dave: Did you check out the graph? They actually think prices will dip a bit before going back up. -Paul
[2006-09-21 10:36:54] - paul: wow, 3% gain over the next 10 years -dave
[2006-09-21 10:33:28] - xpovos: on the plus side, maybe after your boss settles down she'll actually do some of her work and offload you -dave
[2006-09-21 10:32:32] - http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_forbes.aspx?cp-documentid=930911>1=8588 How low will real estate go? -Paul
[2006-09-21 10:15:59] - Xpovos: So it was the best of both worlds for me in that I could come up and say: "Hey, I really want to stay" and also: "It looks like I'm worth more". -Paul
[2006-09-21 10:05:48] - Xpovos: I know you don't want to hear from me, but too bad.
I was lucky in that I was contacted for a job that I had applied to like a year ago (before I joined Intwine) so when I came forward with a job offer, I could honestly tell them I hadn't gone looking for it and preferred to stay at Intwine. -Paul[2006-09-21 09:14:48] - dave: True, I'm fortunate that my boss is a decent person and a friend, but I know for certain that: 1) She's looking out for #1 first. 2) She's looking out for the interests of the office second. And keeping me on is good for the office, but keeping me on at the lower salary is better for the office; and all of that is best for her. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:44:28] - xpovos: well, that's rough then, because if you're doing your manager's job, they're probably less likely to try to go justify a raise to their manager for someone who's been doing their work -dave
[2006-09-21 08:38:14] - She's been in the office about 5 days in the past two months. All with good excuses, frequently, she's been doing work out of the office, audits, seminars, business trips, etc. And she got married in there too, so there was a lengthy vacation, but the fact remains. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:37:22] - dave: Neither of those sitatuations applies. My situation is that, unfortunately, that second person's job that I've been doing recently is my manager's. And I can't really go to senior managment and say, look, as interim manager (unofficial) of the department, I think this worker of mine (me) deserves a promotion. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:24:36] - xpovos: and then you also get managers who just don't know what they have till it's gone. Unfortunately, this doesn't help you any -dave
[2006-09-21 08:23:57] - xpovos: <nod> the other thing to keep in mind is that a lot of times, the manager or whoever is in charge of raises / firing / etc will take a gamble that they will be able to get someone else, or just not care if the quality goes down the tubes if they get an inexperienced guy -dave
[2006-09-21 08:21:54] - before finally getting up to the level of my performance. Since the office currently has a lot of deadweight, that makes all the decisions that much harder. They can't really afford to replace me, but they can't afford to keep me happy either. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:21:10] - dave: I have an advantage there, my OTJ training has been such that to replace me they'd either have to hire someone who would demand at least 10K more than I do, and still have OTJ training for months, or scrap the whole thing and go with someone who would accept something close to what they're paying me, but lose a large amount of functionality for months, or a year...
[2006-09-21 08:20:45] - a: yeah, sometimes what they'll do is keep you around until they find someone else, then fire you, because they figure you will jump at a certain point anyways, so they minus as well do it at a time convenient to them -dave
[2006-09-21 08:19:40] - Though, that hasn't really reduced my number of special projects. In fact, in the past two months I've gotten more than ever. Which is why I'm so frustrated by the lack of promotion/raise, or anything. I've been (literally) doing the work of two people, and it hasn't be recognized sufficiently, so it's been frustrating. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:19:38] - xpovos: he's a pretty valuable person though, so you have to weigh how much you think you are worth to a company. I know that I'm worth almost zilch to my company from the perspective that I could be fairly easily replaced -dave
[2006-09-21 08:18:46] - xpovos: I believe the only way I have heard of is getting a competing offer and then presenting the current employer with it. Of course you have to be prepared to immediately be fired. aba is also right that even if you stay, it's not quite the same. I will say that a decently high up guy here has done it twice in the span of maybe 5-8 years, and he's still here -dave
[2006-09-21 08:18:29] - aba: They already know I'm looking, I (apparently stupidly) postponed a different promotion/raise into another department because of an external job offer, that ended up taking major steps backward, and ultimately offered me even less than I'm making. So this may in fact be part of that backlash now. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-21 08:16:39] - http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/09/20/kitten.beheaded.ap/index.html man jailed for beheading gf's kitten -dave
[2006-09-21 00:43:40] - hmmm. i guess i agree. ~a
[2006-09-21 00:23:55] - they might not give you extra projects and bonuses because they think you are leaving (and they'd rather reward someone they see as loyal). similar stuff happened at my old job. - aba
[2006-09-20 22:27:15] - what's wrong with them being alert? ~a
[2006-09-20 20:29:17] - xpovos: if you get an offer somewhere else and come back to your current employer, be prepared for the backlash that comes from a pay raise.... they will always be alert that you might be looking for a better job. it's a risky thing to do. - aba
[2006-09-20 17:03:43] - (log in as bush@stinks.com/impeachhim) - aaron
[2006-09-20 17:03:32] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/19/AR2006091901175.html?sub=AR X-Rated Font Used on Third-Grade Handout - aaron
[2006-09-20 15:09:25] - xpovos: one thing i did was look at starting salaries for vt grads. i think the top 10% of vt cs grads made more than 59/year. i know you weren't vt cs, but you're in a position that a vt cs grad would probably take. ~a
[2006-09-20 15:07:59] - Xpovos: Other than me? Ouch.
-Paul[2006-09-20 15:07:22] - xpovos: that's a tough one. the best way (but hardest way) is to get an offer for a different job, and bring the offer back to your current employer. ~a
[2006-09-20 14:52:47] - Does anyone (other than Paul) have any advice on how to get the money the position is worth from your current employer? I'm currently seeking other employment options, but if I could get the matching salary here, it would be better for everyone... I just don't think they see it that way. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-20 13:13:57] - a: No, but I think "turning a profit" when somebody essentially gives you money for free is a lot less impressive. -Paul
[2006-09-20 12:21:09] - is there a problem with charity? ~a
[2006-09-20 12:20:03] - a: Well, he turned a profit thanks in part to charity (scholarships). I know he probably earned those scholarships, but I still think it's an important thing to remember. -Paul
[2006-09-20 12:13:01] - it seems pretty cool that he was able to turn a profit on college, but on the other hand he's in the running for the least well rounded person on the planet. ~a
[2006-09-20 12:05:43] - a: Well, the article mentions he went to TJ. -Paul
[2006-09-20 11:36:25] - paul: they were talking about him on dc101. he went to tj (which i'm guessing you know). the dc101 talk show guy was trying to call up the kid on his cell phone but i got to work before he got through. ~a
[2006-09-20 11:34:38] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/19/AR2006091901779.html "David Banh, an 18-year-old from Annandale, just graduated from the University of Virginia in one year. With a double major." -Paul
[2006-09-20 11:20:42] - what did your coworker suggest? ~a
[2006-09-20 11:18:40] - or: String a; if(a.matches(".[^ ]") || a.matches("[^ ].")) ... ~a
[2006-09-20 11:17:06] - though there are lots of other ways: String a; if(a.matches(".[^ ]|[^ ].")) ... ~a
[2006-09-20 11:16:10] - yeah, depending on how you use the regular expression, you can just use a "!" outside the regular expression. like String a; if(!a.matches(" ")) ... ~a
[2006-09-20 11:07:56] - a: okay one of my coworkers found a way, it was way complicated! he did a good job. - aaron
[2006-09-20 10:49:04] - a: do you know how to use regular expressions to match all strings which DON'T have two consecutive spaces (or, iow, the inverse of the regular expression " ") - aaron
[2006-09-20 09:56:40] - I check the board occasionally, even when busy, less frequently, though. I am, however, very busy I have about a week's worth of backlog on paperwork, a major database project to build, and audits/seminars to do. Whee! -- Xpovos
[2006-09-19 14:46:08] - Aaron: Me neither.
-Paul[2006-09-19 14:28:55] - paul: i'm checking the message board pretty often but i haven't had anything to post - aaron
[2006-09-19 13:20:29] - a: I'm uncommonly not too busy today but I try to check here even when I am busy. -Paul
[2006-09-19 11:19:01] - i'm busy but i usually check/use the mboard even when i'm busy. ~a
[2006-09-19 11:09:47] - Slow two days on the message board. Is everybody busy? -Paul
[2006-09-18 13:33:43] - a: Thanks. I'm not selling AMD yet, I'm thinking of selling BBY (Best Buy). -Paul
[2006-09-18 11:45:25] - paul: selling amd? ~a
[2006-09-18 11:32:06] - dart board method for stock picking beats out the average stock market trader and beats out the experts?! ~a
[2006-09-18 11:26:55] - paul: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_%28exchange%29 limit sell order: sell N shares at no less than $X. ~a
[2006-09-18 10:27:32] - What's the name for the trade I want if I want to sell my shares if the price of a stock reaches a certain point higher than it's currently at? -Paul
[2006-09-18 10:15:04] - a: Cool. Thanks. -Paul
[2006-09-18 10:14:09] - sam: I'm not sure how to answer your question. -Paul
[2006-09-18 09:17:41] - paul: yes. i've done it many many times. and i even have two scottrade accounts. ~a
[2006-09-18 08:34:46] - a: I've been out drinking with my colleagues once and my boss a few times more than that, but what I meant was more that I'm not a social person in general to begin with, hence I have no social capital, even if I do go drinking -- Xpovos
[2006-09-18 07:43:28] - 127 rushing yards for michael vick? -sam
[2006-09-17 23:47:01] - a: Do you think if I use BOA bill pay to send Scottrade a check with my account number on it, they will know to deposit it into my Scottrade account? -Paul
[2006-09-16 11:21:39] - xpovos: yeah, i don't have very much social capital either. though i have shared a drink, or ten. i'm guessing the situation is different at your job. wait, catholics drink more, not less.
. . . in business companies all of the people who are high up in management like to drink socially. it's pretty much an unspoken rule. ~a[2006-09-16 11:13:13] - mig: i'm sure the irony was intended. ~a
[2006-09-16 10:31:00] - a: I love that term social capital. That's something I'm sure I have nothing of. mig: I think the irony was intended. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-15 17:49:34] - http://blog.lewrockwell.com/lewrw/archives/20060203BritishMuslims-ps.jpg i'm sorry but i just can't get over the irony on display here. - mig
[2006-09-15 16:22:04] - drinker ~a
[2006-09-15 10:30:22] - a: the article said it was at a gas station. it was probably a no-name atm. - aaron
[2006-09-15 09:29:03] - aaron: i wonder if it was a bank atm or one of those no-name atms. most bank atms i use don't give out $5 bills. ~a
[2006-09-15 09:13:51] - http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/ATM_in_Virginia_Beach_hacked_to_give_out_four_times_more_money - aaron
[2006-09-14 19:28:37] - http://popsugar.com/31304 State of Emergency Fashion Spread in Vogue Italia (possibly NSFW). -Paul
[2006-09-14 17:28:44] - vinnie: k. ~a
[2006-09-14 16:45:19] - a: aaron told me nvcc is back to better settings, so the plan is to go there today - vinnie
[2006-09-14 16:42:17] - aaron: GMU? nvcc, right? - vinnie
[2006-09-14 16:14:42] - aaron: i'll just call you. my phone's on but they don't have any service in here. ~a
[2006-09-14 16:04:49] - oh never mind. he cut the lcd board in half. ~a
[2006-09-14 16:01:21] - you can skip the comic at the beginning. it's pretty dumb. ~a
[2006-09-14 16:01:00] - a kid turns his xbox360 into a loptop. very hardcore and involved cutting the xbox mb in half. ~a
[2006-09-14 15:54:55] - a: if you have your phone on, or he could post something to the message board or whatever - aaron
[2006-09-14 15:47:10] - aaron: and vinnie will call me? ~a
[2006-09-14 15:25:13] - aba: in windows? that's a good question. ~a
[2006-09-14 15:20:02] - a: is there any way for you to re-map cut/copy/paste to different keys? - aba
[2006-09-14 15:03:42] - ddr_people: i'll drive by gmu and see if the machine's on nice-guy settings. i'll call vinnie if the machine is working and inexpensive - aaron
[2006-09-14 14:17:22] - a: hmm. i can't entirely visualize this because i use qwerty at work. but i don't use the mouse much, so i think i usually try to switch between whatever it is by using keyboard. or else just switch betw mouse and keyboard a lot? which sort of defeats the purpose, heh. -amy
[2006-09-14 13:02:35] - amy: how do you take care of the "ctrl-x ctrl-c ctrl-v" (cut copy paste) problem with dvorak? it's not a problem when i'm typing with two hands, but it's a HUGE problem when i'm using the mouse with the right hand and trying to type "ctrl-x ctrl-c ctrl-v" with the left hand. ~a
[2006-09-14 12:59:42] - stick up=stand up? ~a
[2006-09-14 12:17:44] - mig: i went to a club that had a cover just for guys. since not every bar/club has a cover, i laughed at the bouncer and asked "are you joking?". i knew he wasn't joking: it's good to stick up for equal rights every now and then. ~a
[2006-09-14 11:51:57] - http://www.chiprowe.com/articles/ladies-night-rip.html i had no idea ladies night promos had actually been banned in a couple places. - mig
[2006-09-14 11:31:02] - Nintendo Wii will go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 19 for $249.99 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14833055/ -sam
[2006-09-13 20:25:59] - The "F" word gets out on ESPN News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKjmz-3zq88&NR -sam
[2006-09-13 19:17:53] - nintendo wii's controls for madden 07 http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/705/705685/madden-nfl-07-20060508024631222.jpg -sam
[2006-09-13 19:16:58] - nintendo wii's passing controls for madden o7 http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/705/705685/madden-nfl-07-20060508024628988.jpg -sam
[2006-09-13 19:16:18] - nintendo wii's kicking controls http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/705/705685/madden-nfl-07-20060508024627925.jpg -sam
[2006-09-13 19:15:24] - nintendo wii's running back controls for madden 07 http://revolutionmedia.ign.com/revolution/image/article/705/705685/madden-nfl-07-20060508024625800.jpg -sam
[2006-09-13 17:12:30] - thank you! ~a
[2006-09-13 14:07:17] - a: Good job? -Paul
[2006-09-13 13:49:42] - i saw a page today that said "The information on this page is for non-military use only. Military use includes use by defence contractors." i then promptly put the information to use for the military. ~a
[2006-09-13 13:48:53] - aaron: i doubt it. ~a
[2006-09-13 13:06:41] - a: i want one! does it turn well? - aaron
[2006-09-13 13:03:06] - paul: unless it was like, for a close relative, i wouldn't - aaron
[2006-09-13 12:38:38] - mig: Eww to the flat daddy's ... that is way too much! ~gurkie
[2006-09-13 12:05:43] - If you are invited to a birthday party but can't make it, is it good manners to still send a gift? Is it like a wedding? -Paul
[2006-09-13 12:02:11] - http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=40970 when "he's with us in spirit" is taken a bit too far. - mig
[2006-09-13 11:29:34] - so it's not actually meant to be solved, right? i don't see a price anywhere, but if it's made of metal, it's probably just for looks and maybe one solve or two. ~a
[2006-09-13 10:29:21] - http://www.popgadget.net/2006/09/cube_goes_luxe.php luxury rubik's cube - aba
[2006-09-13 10:01:45] - mig: i have one. it works fine in linux and windows. i like it a bunch, but it probably depends on WHAT sizes you want/are getting. ~a
[2006-09-13 09:30:31] - poll: considering purchasing a widescreen lcd monitor for pc. yay or nay? - mig
[2006-09-12 15:14:39] - http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ yet smaller ipod shuffle - aaron
[2006-09-12 12:32:29] - ceci n'est pas une pipe ~a
[2006-09-11 18:05:57] - gurkie: I'm in the wedding - so I will definately be busy the nigth before - but adrian might not. I will cry a little if I miss the party but I'll live. I hope you all have fun! - lori
[2006-09-11 18:03:06] - lori: but I will look into things more... the wedding is sat night but where? in DC so technically u guys have no plans on Friday? ~gurkie
[2006-09-11 18:02:13] - lori: well the weekend after is my birthday and i was thinking about having a bday party in DC... I know some people who have organized with bars a 20 dollar cover for 3 hours of open bar time... and was thinking about possibly trying to set that up for my 25th... ~gurkie
[2006-09-11 17:57:34] - gurkie: if it's the weekend before adrian and i cannot come - we have a wedding to go to on the 28th - lori
[2006-09-11 17:57:03] - as an fyi - i have no love of bulimia despite what paul might say... i do yell at some of my coworkers though... but in my defense they are really dumb and ask tons of questions that they SHOULD know the answers to.... ~gurkie
[2006-09-11 17:56:06] - a: ive lived at my place for about... 3 years in october... And it would be on the weekend... ~gurkie
[2006-09-11 17:00:50] - i also don't tend to bike on the road, so most of the data from that article doesn't apply to me. ~a
[2006-09-11 16:59:45] - "wearing a wig designed to make him appear [to be a transvestite] was enough to gain an added 14 cm of space"
~a[2006-09-11 16:56:48] - i biked in to work today. and i wore a helmet. ~a
[2006-09-11 16:44:53] - http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2006/9/11/5248 Want to be hit by a car while riding a bicycle? Wear a helmet! -Paul
[2006-09-11 16:31:14] - who's lived at their current house the longest? i'm guessing mig is winning, but who is in second place? gurkie? travis? lisa? ~a
[2006-09-11 15:48:39] - gurkie: i'd come. would it actually be on halloween, or would it be on the weekend? ~a
[2006-09-11 15:38:10] -
~a[2006-09-11 15:33:30] - a: I'm not being mean, I'm just referring to her self-described leadership skills and love of bulimia. -Paul
[2006-09-11 15:24:30] - stop being mean to gurkie! ~a
[2006-09-11 15:19:02] - And making them cry. -Paul
[2006-09-11 15:07:20] - Gurkie: All I know is that I would be vomitting a lot and yelling at coworkers a lot. -Paul
[2006-09-11 15:06:52] - a: I don't think anybody would want to see that. -Paul
[2006-09-11 15:06:39] - paul: please dont dress up as me!! I would hate to see what you look like as a "self-absorbed princess"
[2006-09-11 15:06:38] - Aaron: I was wasting some time at a Best Buy in the middle of the day on Friday so I played some games on the demo machines. -Paul
[2006-09-11 14:56:01] - paul: dress up as gurkie. ~a
[2006-09-11 14:45:26] - paul: when did you get to play Guitar Hero? i'm glad you liked it! i think it's a very fun game too- aaron
[2006-09-11 14:33:36] - a: Or perhaps it is more accurately described as a knil. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-11 14:23:04] - a: Clearly... it's a link. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-11 13:29:19] - a: You think the latter would be better? I would've thought staying late would've been better. -Paul
[2006-09-11 13:28:58] - Gurkie: If I could figure out what to dress up as, then maybe. -Paul
[2006-09-11 13:27:58] - gurkie: what a great idea! i am quite interested .D -amy
[2006-09-11 13:23:54] - would people be interested in a halloween costume party? trying to figure out if we should throw one... ~gurkie
[2006-09-11 13:11:37] - what the hell is this? link ~a
[2006-09-11 13:08:50] - paul: probably the latter. but doing both would be even better. ~a
[2006-09-11 10:21:13] - amig: I found the article to be humorous as well, for a variety of reasons. -Paul
[2006-09-11 10:21:00] - Also, guitar hero is a fun game. I wish I could purchase it for my Xbox360.
-Paul[2006-09-11 10:15:46] - I wonder which is better for my job-keeping prospects: staying late at work or inviting coworkers over my place to watch the Redskins game.
-Paul[2006-09-11 09:25:47] - paul: so when an all-male college decides to admit women it's applauded as a step forward or they're criticized for not doing it earlier. An all female college starts to admit males and it's the greatest tragedy in human history. god i love the media. - mig
[2006-09-10 22:49:53] - http://www.highdefdigest.com/feature_blurayvshddvd_roundtwo.html blu-ray vs. hd dvd round two. "Blu-ray fared much better" this round. ~a
[2006-09-10 22:22:32] - that's just absurd. it's against the law for all-male colleges to even exist and these chicks are pissed off that they aren't entitled to their own all woman's college even though a women's college makes no financial sense? ~a
[2006-09-10 20:52:42] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090900745.html Tears Spill As College Votes To Admit Men -Paul
[2006-09-10 20:27:11] - Paul Levesque!
[2006-09-08 18:49:11] - OMG! LOL! "bitches love me" http://xc5.xanga.com/c88a9415d263276727923/m51924480.jpg -sam
[2006-09-08 13:32:23] - a: I totally agree in principle. In practice... it's complicated. But I'll agree to this much: Government should do all in it's power to ensure that inflation is kept as close to zero as possible. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-08 13:14:27] - xpovos: we should outlaw inflation! ~a
[2006-09-08 13:13:04] - for example: "%d %d %d" (which works in java and non-java) is the same as "%1$d %2$d %3$d" (which only works in java) ~a
[2006-09-08 13:12:10] - aaron: well it's actually not too far off. i just realized that the thing that was confusing me was a new optional parameter (the whole "number$" thing doesn't exist in non-java-printf). ~a
[2006-09-08 12:12:11] - a: i haven't used it yet - aaron
[2006-09-08 11:54:53] - blather, blather, blather... -- little old ladies
[2006-09-08 10:37:05] - oh my, java's printf isn't really printf, is it? ~a
[2006-09-07 17:37:47] - aaron: me. ~a
[2006-09-07 15:51:41] - xpovos: ahh, gotcha, I missed that part -dave
[2006-09-07 15:46:09] - aaron: I'll be there - vinnie
[2006-09-07 15:30:54] - dave: I know. I fully expect to be making a quarter million dollar a year salary by the end of my career. Pretty sad, huh? Anyway, that's why I said in 2006 dollars. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-07 15:30:07] - xpovos: also look at it this way, with average of 4% inflation, in 40 years 200k will be what 41k is now. -dave
[2006-09-07 15:17:30] - ddr_people: sfm? who's in? - aaron
[2006-09-07 14:32:04] - aaron: Retirement. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-07 14:27:08] - dave: the 30-40 years we have left... until you go on a killing spree?
what's going to kill us all at such an early age? - aaron[2006-09-07 14:19:07] - xpovos: never say never, a lot can happen in the 30-40 years we have left -dave
[2006-09-07 14:18:33] - that from http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BBDA09CEA%2D0277%2D4781%2DB9BD%2DBC0E993116A9%7D&siteid= -dave
[2006-09-07 14:18:22] - "Median existing-home sales prices should rise about 2.8% this year and 2.2% next year, the realtors said in their monthly economic outlook. Median new-home prices are expected to rise 0.2% in 2006 and 2.4% in 2007. " -dave
[2006-09-07 14:18:12] - "This year sales are slowing, homes are plentiful and sellers are negotiating," Lereah said. "Under these conditions, we'll probably see prices dip temporarily below year-ago levels as the market works through a build up in housing inventory." -dave
[2006-09-07 13:26:10] - dave: OK. Further, I don't think I'll ever be in an income bracket that will make $200K-$400K, adjusted to 2006 dollars. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-07 12:41:07] - xpovos: I can't think of many people our age who would be in that target audience -dave
[2006-09-07 12:04:12] - dave: I concur that the tax situation is screwy and isn't going to change any time soon, but I'm really out of that target audience. I don't make $200K-400K, and I don't make $10,000 a year in taxable interest on my investments. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-07 11:50:30] - Paul: or be even happier, if it means that people interested in those topics generally don't stay on the low side of the income bracket for long ^_^ -dave
[2006-09-07 11:50:00] - Paul: you should be happy, that means you're probably getting the full benefit of the tax cut ^_^ -dave
[2006-09-07 11:49:42] - http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/06/star.trek.40/index.html Shatner and Nimoy on what still gets them fired up about Star Trek -dave
[2006-09-07 11:44:27] - Dave: Why am I always making so much less than the people in these examples?
-Paul[2006-09-07 11:38:40] - McCain and Gore were the runner-ups -dave
[2006-09-07 11:38:22] - http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/07/poll/index.html Giuliana, Clinton, favorites for 2008 nominations -dave
[2006-09-07 11:30:11] - http://online.barrons.com/public/article/SB115716069213552485-A_WVAuYjX_FOk8aJUEWUa81S_2A_20061005.html?mod=9_0002_b_free_features apparently the tax cut on capital gains isn't all it's touted to be -dave
[2006-09-07 08:35:44] - Beer seems to be a very popular party-theme. Perhaps there is some merit in it. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-06 17:19:54] - a: i want to join the Happy Birthday Party - aaron
[2006-09-06 16:46:00] - aaron: that's nsfw, because when i read it, i start laughing.
~a[2006-09-06 16:44:57] - stock market: ouch. ~a
[2006-09-06 16:43:29] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_frivolous_political_parties - aaron
[2006-09-06 15:07:48] - worst mascot ever ~a
[2006-09-06 14:25:12] - i was making the generalization that: mortgage + "saved tax" + "saved rent" = 0 (it's close, but mortgage + "saved tax" is probably less). so if the price increase >= inflation, then you're good. ~a
[2006-09-06 14:21:09] - dave: also renters insurance is usually lower than hoi and home buyers insurance (hbi?). ~a
[2006-09-06 14:19:58] - dave: in my case, my utilities (elec, gas, cable, internet, water) went from $250/person to $100/person. ~a
[2006-09-06 14:18:17] - dave: errr. xpovos=dave (stupid purple vs. purple) ~a
[2006-09-06 14:18:05] - xpovos: yes, and saved tax = saved income tax - personal property tax. and saved rent = old rent - new condo fees - new hoa. plus you have to take into account utilities. sometimes rent comes with utilities included, sometimes condo fees come with utilities included. ~a
[2006-09-06 13:50:53] - a: so as long as price increase + saved rent + saved tax >= inflation -dave
[2006-09-06 13:49:35] - a: well, you also get a tax break for the interest on your mortgage -dave
[2006-09-06 12:40:03] - err. average price increase >= inflation. ~a
[2006-09-06 12:39:31] - xpovos: yeah, but when you do the math from end to end, things don't make sense unless price >= inflation. ~a
[2006-09-06 12:30:36] - a: Also, tax deduction for mortage interest. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-06 12:22:29] - heh. ~a
[2006-09-06 12:22:19] - i mean, hell, how much do you pay in rent?
~a[2006-09-06 12:21:01] - a: It beats renting an apartment, either way.
-Paul[2006-09-06 12:13:18] - but you could roll the mortgage (and a small amount of the inflation loss) into the "cost" of living. ~a
[2006-09-06 12:12:03] - inflation is 4%ish. if the house goes up by 3%ish, and i have 4/5ths of my portfolio is in the house, then the rest of my portfolio has to go up by (in my case) 4% over inflation. of course that doesn't account for the mortgage
~a[2006-09-06 11:57:59] - then that sucks. but it won't be the first time that i invested in something that went down. and it won't be the last time. ~a
[2006-09-06 11:50:24] - a: Essentially (assuming your notation is correct). What if the rate of increase in housing prices doesn't keep up with inflation, though? -Paul
[2006-09-06 11:45:27] - who remembers any diffeq? ~a
[2006-09-06 11:45:16] - *** a tries to remember why it's dx2 and not d2x.
[2006-09-06 11:42:48] - honestly, i don't mind if d2y/dx2<0. ~a
[2006-09-06 11:41:37] - paul: ah dy/dx<0 vs d2y/dx2<0? ~a
[2006-09-06 11:08:35] - a: What's really fascinating is the ratios of interest:inflation and pathed along housing prices. Since the domicile is the single largest expense in the American budget, it paints a fairly accurate picture of growth, along with inflation, once you accout for sq. footage, ammenities, location, age, design, etc. -- Xpovos
[2006-09-06 11:07:44] - a: Well, housing prices don't often go down, I don't think. It's mostly a matter of how fast they go up. -Paul
[2006-09-06 10:36:59] - based on my two statements, my theory is that interest rates will keep going up (because they really aren't that high right now) and that housing prices are somewhat-independent of interest rates (because they've gone up with the interest rates, not down like one would guess). ~a
[2006-09-06 10:34:40] - what's your point? it's all relative. interest rates relative to the past three years are high, relative to the last 60 years are low. ~a
[2006-09-06 10:19:32] - 8 ). -Paul
[2006-09-06 10:19:17] - a: Interest rates are still pretty low. in the 80s, the prime rate was 10-20 (right now it's 8). -Paul
[2006-09-06 10:02:10] - in fact, housing prices have gone up since 2004 (when interest rates were at their lowest) ~a
[2006-09-06 09:59:20] - paul: except that interest rates have more than doubled and housing prices haven't gone down at all. ~a
[2006-09-05 23:46:02] - sam: interest rates are still pretty low. in the 80s, the prime rate was 10-20 (right now it's 8 ). ~a
[2006-09-05 23:10:05] - Sam: I'm not sure why that would necessarily follow. I imagine it's more likely to be the other way around. When interest rates go down, housing prices go up (and vice versa). -Paul
[2006-09-05 22:07:51] - paul: does that mean the interest rates would go down? -sam
[2006-09-05 19:18:35] - paul: grrrr. ~a
[2006-09-05 17:48:59] - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/05/AR2006090500466.html "Analysts expect home sales to drop by some 10 percent this year." Wow. -Paul
[2006-09-05 17:24:34] - http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71714-0.html?tw=rss.technology robot identifies types of wine by analyzing spectral fingerprints - aaron
[2006-09-05 14:52:32] - i knew it was somehow related to O(n!) since that's the number of possible orientations of an array with distinct values. ~a
[2006-09-05 14:32:27] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_sort - aaron
[2006-09-05 13:38:52] - redskins are the most profitable and the team with the most value in the NFL. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2572739 -sam
[2006-09-05 13:35:31] - A day after he was cut, Marcus Vick was among eight players signed to the Miami Dolphins' practice squad Sunday. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-dolphins-vick&prov=ap&type=lgns -sam
[2006-09-05 11:45:33] - http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060905/major_oil_discovery.html?.v=14 Gulf of Mexico oil discovery could boost US oil reserves by 50% (actual production might not come online till 2010) -dave
[2006-09-04 23:34:45] - i thought it would be really dumb if i went all the way to australia and didn't end up seeing at least a small part of the reef.
- aba[2006-09-04 21:25:06] - that sounds really cool. i've never been diving but one of my coworkers is really into it. ~a
[2006-09-04 21:18:54] - a: the area where all of us inexperienced people were was like 5-15ft deep (off the shore of the island), but the more experienced people were off near the boat and i don't know how deep that was. - aba
[2006-09-04 20:56:50] - aba: Well, from what I've heard, it was more of a freak accident than anything else so they could've been right about the stingrays not being as dangerous as the sharks. -Paul
[2006-09-04 20:42:39] - how deep? ~a
[2006-09-04 17:35:27] - paul: they actually told us that the stingrays weren't very dangerous but to watch out for smaller sharks that came to shallower water. O_o - aba
[2006-09-04 14:40:51] - aba: It's a good thing you didn't swim too close to any stingrays. -Paul
[2006-09-04 13:28:43] - paul: the low isles is where i went diving on my trip to australia. :o - aba
prev <-> next