Foo - Yikes

Forget all that bike schwag if the global banking system starts unraveling. The only liquidity left will be in the Wall Street bars.

You are all F'd (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080317/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets).

Hey, me too. You moderators think this is politics? Get a grip. This is life. Enjoy that bike schwag while it lasts. Hey, at least you can ride it. You'll need to when gas is $5/gallon and you're unemployed.

Have a great day!

http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/the_end_is_near.gif

Let's hope not.

The scary thing about the Bear Stearns story? From all indications, this bank was going belly-up and DID NOT SEEM TO KNOW IT until the past couple of weeks. Double Yikes. Hold onto your wallets weenies.

Don't worry PCAD in June I will get my 600 bucks and I will spend it to save the world. Probably only afford water bottles by June, but it will be a symbolic victory.

On a side note I have friend that got laid off last week after putting in 20 years with Sprint. While that company continues to crumble their VP's are fatting their pockets. Here is how fun it is. My friend said at the company meeting when they announced lay offs they also announced an increase in the VP's and managements bonus since they are able to cut the burn rate in Q1. Go figure.

Better spend that $600 on American-made products...like ammunition. ;)

Nah, if it ends up being a new wild-west...it's the clever man with the knife that gets all the free ammo&guns.

Chaotic Evil for the win.

The scary thing about the Bear Stearns story? From all indications, this bank was going belly-up and DID NOT SEEM TO KNOW IT until the past couple of weeks. Double Yikes. Hold onto your wallets weenies.

No. I guarantee you many of the boys upstairs knew.

The trick is to lie through your teeth long enough for you and your buddies to sell off stock at $50 a share and cash out before everything goes to **** and the fresh faced young analysts and guys in the mail room have to sell their shares for $2.

The trick is to lie through your teeth long enough for you and your buddies to sell off stock at $50 a share and cash out before everything goes to **** and the fresh faced young analysts and guys in the mail room have to sell their shares for $2.

Hey, it worked for Enron.

Forget all that bike schwag if the global banking system starts unraveling. The only liquidity left will be in the Wall Street bars.

You are all F'd (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080317/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets).

Hey, me too. You moderators think this is politics? Get a grip. This is life. Enjoy that bike schwag while it lasts. Hey, at least you can ride it. You'll need to when gas is $5/gallon and you're unemployed.

Have a great day!
I understand, Pcad, and I totally agree with you. It's ok in here so long as discussion of the root causes stay apolitical.

So, what are people doing to batten down their hatches?

Hey, it worked for Enron.

Exactly.

The other option is to lie through your teeth/project profits/ massage books long enough for you and your buddies to meet your performance goals and collect your bonuses before everything goes to **** and the fresh faced young analysts and guys in the mail room have to sell their shares for $2.

The key is to remain economically viable...when nobody cares about computers, but instead cares about food....can you grow it, or harvest/process/deliver it?

There will always be an economy...it's just our needs will become far mroe basic, and those that cannot deliver basic services, will probably starve.

The key is to remain economically viable...when nobody cares about computers, but instead cares about food....can you grow it, or harvest/process/deliver it?

There will always be an economy...it's just our needs will become far mroe basic, and those that cannot deliver basic services, will probably starve.

As long as the sun doesn't burn out, I've already got a year 'round garden.

http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/the_end_is_near.gif

When I saw this, it reminded me of a scene from Water World (I watched part of it this weekend...

A person was working down in the bowels of the tanker ship and saw the flame quickly coming at him from the distance and his last words are "Thank God!"

big 'ole mess out there for sure. but, rest assured, there will be opportunities out of the wreckage.

The key is to remain economically viable...when nobody cares about computers, but instead cares about food....can you grow it, or harvest/process/deliver it?

There will always be an economy...it's just our needs will become far mroe basic, and those that cannot deliver basic services, will probably starve.

My viability plan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj3Syni1smY&feature=related)

So, what are people doing to batten down their hatches?

I am not really doing much... I bought a house a few months ago, so I guess that would count.

I am continuing my periodic retirement investments in market related funds, since I believe that the dollar cost averaging is a healthy way to invest for the long term.

I have some plans to make my home "greener", which will help in the long term, but the implementation will hurt a little financially in the short term (looking to make my home more energy efficient). I will have to consider the plans to see when I can weather the short term costs to get that long term benefit.

So, what are people doing to batten down their hatches?

Absolutely nothing. My portfolio is set up for the long haul. I live a modest life and have an almost paid for modest home. No car payments and no credit card debt.

Absolutely nothing. My portfolio is set up for the long haul. I live a modest life and have an almost paid for modest home. No car payments and no credit card debt.

+1

definitely a good time to be out of debt.

Debt= me

I am not prone to paranoia. However, I am continuing to pay off my debts and live within my means.
I am so buried in debt that getting out of said debt is more like a 10 year plan for me.

If I get layed off, I go on unemployment. If I do not find a new job I go bankrupt. Simple as that. :p

Absolutely nothing. My portfolio is set up for the long haul. I live a modest life and have an almost paid for modest home. No car payments and no credit card debt.

Bingo. Got a decent cash reserve that won't be invested in anything too much until things calm down a bit. No car payment; no credit card or other debts. The mortgage is still there, but it's getting reduced at an accelerated rate.

No. I guarantee you many of the boys upstairs knew.


That simply doesn't add up. All indications are that by the time these bankers discover the skeletons in the closet it's too late to stop the ship from sinking. And that is far scarier than some executive malfeasance. Sort of like your airplane's pilot discovering he needs glasses by flying into the mountain.

Still waiting for the Great Hedge Fund Crash to occur, surely there's more to come.

in hindsight, it's easy to see how this could happen. the trick is to be able to act apropriately ahead of time to save the ship. however you look at it, the fact remains that the level of risk in these secruities were poorly understood and\or completely ignored. and to think some of these guys are walking away with upward of $50 million dollar packages.

That simply doesn't add up. All indications are that by the time these bankers discover the skeletons in the closet it's too late to stop the ship from sinking. And that is far scarier than some executive malfeasance. Sort of like your airplane's pilot discovering he needs glasses by flying into the mountain.

Did they know when it was going to fall apart? Probably not and they probably didn't think it would fall apart so spectacularly.

Did they know that buying and selling debt on overpriced mortgages given to risky borrowers under the name "High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leveraged Fund" was polishing a turd? Someone did (my bet is a lot of someones did) and they went ahead and did it anyway. Is that criminal? We'll see. Is it malfeasance? To my mind, yes.

I may be wrong, but I bet when this is all over and the whistle blowers and lawsuits have shaken out we will find that there was collusion between execs and rating agencies and that people within the company knew they were headed for a fall were ignored. It might not be the full Enron, but it will be close. As I said, I may be wrong.

The thing was it was obvious things were going down the tubes when we became a debt based economy.

It's just know-it-all analysts kept smokescreening the populace into believeing that an economy that functions by having people owing others is the way to go, when in fact it's just another indicator that the porsche is fishtailing too hard and will soon be having intimate relations with a tree.

Basically in a debt based economy, there are only two classes....those that have the wealth, and those that owe it. Guess who 98% of the people are? Also guess who's SOL when things hit the fan? Exactly. That's why I despise the credit system and no longer take part in it in any form. If I need money, I have it....reason why is I haven't been burning it all up on interest payments and the such.

Sure, it means you don't get flashy stuff sooner...but it also means you are living within your means, which is far more important than anything else. It's easy to get eyeballs deep in debt, and it's easier for goods to inflate in price when people are quick to borrow money.

How an economy is supposed to work is you have money...you need to spend that money to keep the economy flowing...so what they need is the right blend of saving and spending. Credit came to as a means to accelerate the savings process, while creating additional income. In truth it sped things up for the company, but slowed it down for the comsumer. However, the consumer can handle the payments, so they take in more debt....and the mountain forms.

Absolutely nothing. My portfolio is set up for the long haul. I live a modest life and have an almost paid for modest home. No car payments and no credit card debt.

I live a modest life, have a paid for modest home, no car payments, no credit card debt, am (finacially) well off, and I still worry :( whats wrong with that picture? :(

holy macro. now, if the market could just stay like this for a while we'll be in good shape.

Too many things still have to be shaken out. There are some companies that NEED to go out of business.

Too many things still have to be shaken out. There are some companies that NEED to go out of business.

i think there are some executives, CEOs, CFOs, etc. that need to be fired and replaced. I hate to see entire companies go out of business because a lot of those workers will face a very difficult job market.

i think there are some executives, CEOs, CFOs, etc. that need to be fired and replaced. I hate to see entire companies go out of business because a lot of those workers will face a very difficult job market.

true enough. But that is always part of the deal. Some survive, some do not. Or should not. They get bailed out, and continue to limp along....

And the CEO, CFO is a huge deal, but that is mostly because said Boards of Directors are not doing their jobs. And until the SHAREHOLDERS actually take an interest in their voting responsibility.....

So, what are people doing to batten down their hatches?

Quite a bit, actually. Some of you may consider this to be going a bit overboard but:

We moved into a house last fall on a 1 1/2 acre lot, only 1/2 mile from my wife's job (my own commute is 15 miles, but if one of us is going to bicycle a good distance on a daily basis, it's better me than her - plus, my job is extremely telecommutable). It's a small house w/ good insulation, but we'll certainly add more. We've paid off all our debt except the mortgage, and may use some of our tax rebate money to buy some solar panels. Over the next year or so, I'm going to completely dig up all the grass and replace it with fruit, nut, and firewood trees, except for a patch that will be our vegetable garden. I'm also going to build a root cellar in the basement. I've been buying old books on traditional skills and food preservation, and I have about a 6-foot tall stack by now; there are maybe a dozen or so that I yet need to get before I feel ready in that department. We're becoming quite connected in our community, and we know and have good relationships with all of our neighbors. When the garden comes in this summer, I'm going to give away lots and lots of food to them all, and hopefully get them to start their own gardens.

So have I gone too far? Who knows - our carbon footprint has never been smaller, though :). We've been planning all this for about two years now, and it's exciting that it's all coming together. Still lots to do, though.

I plan to harness my farts for energy and sell the rest as a renewable commodity.

$$$ ;)

Quite a bit, actually. Some of you may consider this to be going a bit overboard but:

We moved into a house last fall on a 1 1/2 acre lot, only 1/2 mile from my wife's job (my own commute is 15 miles, but if one of us is going to bicycle a good distance on a daily basis, it's better me than her - plus, my job is extremely telecommutable). It's a small house w/ good insulation, but we'll certainly add more. We've paid off all our debt except the mortgage, and may use some of our tax rebate money to buy some solar panels. Over the next year or so, I'm going to completely dig up all the grass and replace it with fruit, nut, and firewood trees, except for a patch that will be our vegetable garden. I'm also going to build a root cellar in the basement. I've been buying old books on traditional skills and food preservation, and I have about a 6-foot tall stack by now; there are maybe a dozen or so that I yet need to get before I feel ready in that department. We're becoming quite connected in our community, and we know and have good relationships with all of our neighbors. When the garden comes in this summer, I'm going to give away lots and lots of food to them all, and hopefully get them to start their own gardens.

So have I gone too far? Who knows - our carbon footprint has never been smaller, though :). We've been planning all this for about two years now, and it's exciting that it's all coming together. Still lots to do, though.

I think you can go even farther! When it comes to you and yours you can nver over do it ;) Let me know how things are going for you as I plan to do the same some day soon ;)

Quite a bit, actually. Some of you may consider this to be going a bit overboard but:

We moved into a house last fall on a 1 1/2 acre lot, only 1/2 mile from my wife's job (my own commute is 15 miles, but if one of us is going to bicycle a good distance on a daily basis, it's better me than her - plus, my job is extremely telecommutable). It's a small house w/ good insulation, but we'll certainly add more. We've paid off all our debt except the mortgage, and may use some of our tax rebate money to buy some solar panels. Over the next year or so, I'm going to completely dig up all the grass and replace it with fruit, nut, and firewood trees, except for a patch that will be our vegetable garden. I'm also going to build a root cellar in the basement. I've been buying old books on traditional skills and food preservation, and I have about a 6-foot tall stack by now; there are maybe a dozen or so that I yet need to get before I feel ready in that department. We're becoming quite connected in our community, and we know and have good relationships with all of our neighbors. When the garden comes in this summer, I'm going to give away lots and lots of food to them all, and hopefully get them to start their own gardens.

So have I gone too far? Who knows - our carbon footprint has never been smaller, though :). We've been planning all this for about two years now, and it's exciting that it's all coming together. Still lots to do, though.


I'd do the same but I can't afford to :(

That simply doesn't add up. All indications are that by the time these bankers discover the skeletons in the closet it's too late to stop the ship from sinking. And that is far scarier than some executive malfeasance. Sort of like your airplane's pilot discovering he needs glasses by flying into the mountain.


"How Goldman won big on mortgage meltdown"

http://www.gata.org/node/5840

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/HowGoldmanProfitedFromSubprimeMeltdown.aspx?page=all

Now all you need is a typewriter and a shack in the woods!

Kidding, of course. Sounds very cool! I especially like the learning traditional skills from old books part. That's a great idea.

If we do the typewriter/woods route, we'll need to dig a pond somewhere, too. ;)

I heard a saying once somewhere: "The more you know, the less you need." Thus far, it seems to be more or less true. It's pretty fun, actually, and I'd probably still do this stuff even if I didn't think we're in for some tough times. I came home last night and got all excited to see that my tomato seeds have started to germinate - such a simple thing, but it made me happy. My kids, however, would just about die if we took away the TV completely, even though they're limited to about 1 hour/day. *sigh*



I'd do the same but I can't afford to :(

Start small. Used books are cheap, and there are hundreds of books available online, such as at http://soilandhealth.org. Don't have a yard? Try container gardening or some of these: http://www.minifarmhomestead.com/gardening/tomato.htm. The amount of stuff you can do in a small space is surprising.

I plan to harness my farts for energy and sell the rest as a renewable commodity.

$$$ ;)

Are you going to handle all the production or farm it out? I am interested in some contract work.

Quite a bit, actually. Some of you may consider this to be going a bit overboard but:

We moved into a house last fall on a 1 1/2 acre lot, only 1/2 mile from my wife's job (my own commute is 15 miles, but if one of us is going to bicycle a good distance on a daily basis, it's better me than her - plus, my job is extremely telecommutable). It's a small house w/ good insulation, but we'll certainly add more. We've paid off all our debt except the mortgage, and may use some of our tax rebate money to buy some solar panels. Over the next year or so, I'm going to completely dig up all the grass and replace it with fruit, nut, and firewood trees, except for a patch that will be our vegetable garden. I'm also going to build a root cellar in the basement. I've been buying old books on traditional skills and food preservation, and I have about a 6-foot tall stack by now; there are maybe a dozen or so that I yet need to get before I feel ready in that department. We're becoming quite connected in our community, and we know and have good relationships with all of our neighbors. When the garden comes in this summer, I'm going to give away lots and lots of food to them all, and hopefully get them to start their own gardens.

So have I gone too far? Who knows - our carbon footprint has never been smaller, though :). We've been planning all this for about two years now, and it's exciting that it's all coming together. Still lots to do, though.
Not overboard at all. :beer: