Crap Throwing Monkey

True...but there isn't a "I was only kidding when I called you a stupid rat-faced git" smiley...

"YOU'RE", you stupid rat-faced git. "Your" is the possessive. "You're" is short for "you are", as in "You are right."

Not too long before it happens here, too. I'd wager DC outlaws backpacks on public transportation before London does...

"Worse" is pretty damned arguable. If it's your residence and you need the money, a line of credit is hardly "worse" than selling and being homeless...

I've read and heard most of the "hoax" arguments. They're all crap. The two examples I gave are anything a college freshman majoring in physics or astronomy could tell you...which tells you something about the calibre of the idiots who perpetrate these hoax theories. Opinions are like ass holes. Everyone has one, and they're usually full of sh--.

It sure as hell isn't BF in the kitchen...

Or a government program.

Don't forget the tax deduction, too. Generally, at 8.5%, you're getting more back from the IRS than you would at 5.5%. Probably doesn't have much of an impact...but what impact it does have probably isn't negligable either.

It's called a "home equity line of credit". You can realize the built-up equity in your home in a liquad format. The interest on which, as far as I know, is tax deductable.

The heat probably doesn't belong there. As far as I can tell from everything you've said, the judge, ADA, and parole board are doing as much as they can within the confines of the law. The media, of course, will point at the judge, ADA, and parole board and blame them, just as you are. It's far easier to blame real people than legal abstractions, particularly in a 30-second TV story.

That was so awful, it cries out for the old :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: smiley...

Dammit! I can't find a good pun for "feldspar" or "dolomite"!

1) Radiation. That's a gross overestimation of the danger of the Van Allen belts. You only need that much lead to stop gamma radiation; the Van Allen belts are relatively slow ions (noting smaller than an electron) that can be stopped by comparatively thin shields. (Alpha radiation - helium nucleii - can be stopped by a sheet of paper. Classic physics 101 demonstration). Hell, nuclear reactors are bigger radiation hazards than that...last I checked, they don't encase 'em in three feet of lead. 2) The flag "waving" in the wind: actually, the flag was waving because it was in vacuum. If you secure a piece of cloth (or whatever they used - a sheet of flexible material, at any rate) at two edges and move it, the unsecured corner will flap around until air pressure dampens the oscillations. There's no air pressure on the moon, so as he set the flag up, the oscillations he induced in the material continued undampened...and the flag looks like it was "waving in the breeze". Most of the "evidence" the moon landing was a hoax is about on par with the "evidence" that 9/11 was a government plot: it looks good if you have absolutely no clue how the world works, but with a little thought and education it's obvious bull sh--.

He drinks while he's driving???? You don't need FAT...you ought to be able to answer your own question...

The bottom line is: understand your situation and get the type of mortgage that best fits it. ARMs, interest only loans, traditional mortgages all have their place, but you have to know which one suits you best. And no bank is going to do it for you...

Point of clarification: when he drinks in the car, are you driving or his he? If he's driving...you're underreacting. Severely. If you're driving...you might want to keep in mind that in some states, ANYONE drinking in the car results in the driver being hauled in.

All over the map. And frankly...it's an issue that's never going to be fair to everyone as long as the determination of when life begins remains entierly subjective. That's the biggest problem I have with the whole issue: it basically boils down to a bunch of people saying "I have the right to tell you what to do, because my definition of life is more valid." Yeah, sure, whatever...

Back taxes, only if there's liens on the property for it (often, but not always). Remaining debt...no, unless there's something on there senior to the foreclosing note. But if a $200k note is foreclosing and you bid $150k on the property, you're not responsible for the remaining $50k. Which is beside the point anyway. My point was that, once all these properties start hitting the market, it'll be much less a sellers' market and more a buyers'. Even if you don't buy at foreclosure (I probably wouldn't, unless I identified a REAL good deal), the sudden glut of supply will tend to drive down prices. That's actually already starting to happen in the townhouse market here; because people are taking advantage of low interest rates to buy single family homes rather than townhouses, it's tough to sell a townhouse. There's three in my development that have each gone for $75k under asking price the past several weeks, and I know of six more in a development down the street that have already come down $50-100k from the original ask with no takers...

If Bush hadn't wasted billions of dollars invading Iraq for Haliburton, this never would have happened...

I thought it would take a lot more than that, to be honest. If you can get his parole revoked (likely, I'd wager), he'll go back for a LOT longer than he would for any BS misdemeanor charge. Looked to me like he still had 13 years to go...

Stupidity? Had this been a real, expert terrorist group, they'd have done a lot more than disrupt. It almost sounds like a college prank, it's so clumsy. However, keep in mind...the information that comes out in the first 24 hours is almost always screwed up. We learned that two weeks ago. We're sure not going to understand what happened today any time this morning. All will be grokked in the fullness of time...

Gneiss! I was sitting here writing that post thinking "Damn it, I'm forgetting a rock..." Good use of it, though. Very igneous.

On the subject of bail, from the PA Procedure Code: Pretty clearly, bail is meant to insure appearance, not as a punitive measure. Other considerations go into the bail decision, such as prior criminal record and what threat the accused poses to the community...but it also has to cosider the current charge, which in this case is a first-degree misdemeanor. And $30k bail is a pretty hefty sum for a misdemeanor. Sorry JSP, but no decent judge in the country is going to issue a remand order or millions in bail for a misdemeanor charge. It sounds to me like the judge was fairly outraged, and expressed as much of that as the system would allow. The judge threw the heaviest book at him within their reach. As for parole...he's required to notify his parole agent within 72 hours of an arrest or criminal citation. Ultimately, it's up to the parole board to decide whether or not he goes back in, not the judge at arraignment. You would think or hope the courts would notify the parole board...I wouldn't count on it, though. If I were in your shoes, I'd be making some calls to the parole board right now to make sure they knew this guy'd been arrested.

Problem is, most people aren't. The wife hears a lot of justifications for interest only loans along the lines of "Well, I couldn't afford the house otherwise." That's BAD risk management...they're basically betting a house against the odds that they make significantly more money in 5 years. Your situation, as I recall, was different. As I recall, you refinanced to an interest only loan so you could put the money you saved into other investment vehicles. Personally, even were I in your situation I still wouldn't touch an interest only loan...but I can't say you're going to be foreclosed on for it either. Bottom line is that, while I disagree with your decision, that doesn't mean I think you're abusing it like so many people are these days.

Around here, they've only been in vogue for about a year, and most of them start adding in principal after five years. Five minus one is...four. 2008-2009, the DC market should start seeing a LOT of foreclosures, since most of these people won't even be able to afford to sell their houses, since they'll have no equity built up and will have to shell out cash at the table to pay the fees. Greenspan today was talking about low interest rates and the relatively easy availability of money fuelling the price inflation in the housing market. Interest-only loans are only a symptom, and a secondary one at that. Regardless, most of the people who've bought long-term with them are going to get kicked in the balls before 2010.