Dandy

I apologize if this has been discussed, but the Smoked Sausage Biscuit at Hardees is foohackin' awesome!

Scroby, when the Honky Tonk Man has jacked you off in the locker room for work, THEN you can step to Noah Fentz!

OH SHIT SON, YOU GOT SERVED.

Am I wrong in thinking that song was a feature part of "Back to the Beach?" I had heard the song before that movie, but I always think of that movie when I hear the song.

BUSINESS IS ABOUT TO PICK UP!

I think you might be missing the gist of what he's talking about, Matt Young.

That bailout did the trick. Oh.

I think Bob tailgates for the Weekend Box Office Report.

Happy late birthday wishes, Lush.

They also have the usb ports and such that are marked "For Future Use." I imagine that they wwill allow you to take the shows off your DVR and put them on your computer, without advertising that fact due to copyright issues or whatever.

Not delving really far into the question, Mike, but almost all of the adjustable rates started off a lot lower than your standard rates, so I doubt they would want to cut them back to the original rates. I also imagine there would be many a lawsuit from those who have already lost their houses.

Hank towering over Bob was the highlight for me.

True, Rant, but I know an overwhelming number of people who only hear the good that can come from what they are doing (investments, using an ARM, etc.) and tune out the bad. These are the same people who bitch and complain about how their agent/broker/lender fucked them and is a crook.

I bet that lady is fun to party with!

Booker's wife is a former Nitro girl.

I don't think there are a lot of people on here thinking it is just personal credit, Marv, but what you are saying is true for the commercial side. However, it goes way deeper than that. For example, I am a salaried manager at Walker Machinery, a Caterpillar dealership, and my job is assumed safe in most circumstances from layoffs and such. However, we have countless contractors, mining companies, etc. set up on 28 day billing cycles, or credit accounts. If they can't get the necessary credit they need, they rent or buy less and less from us, causing the company to make less money, and needing to cut expenses and possibly jobs. But let's say those companies can continue to get the credit they need. There is still a huge likelihood that they will be building less and developing less land due to people not having the credit available to pay them to do the job. Every industry will be effected in varying ways if there is no money to be loaned. If you are in an industry that is not directly related to finance, you will still feel the trickle down effect.

Almost every gas station here has a Beer Cave, but they are not dark or made up like a cave. It is a walk-in cooler (fairly large in size), that has stacks and stacks of different types of beer.

I'd like to hear goldengreek's take on this.

On the subject of paying a lot for nice clothes or shoes, I have always gone for the nicer-looking items (suits and such) that come relatively cheaply. A big part of it is making the clothes look good, not vice vera. I shined my shoes at home weekly, steam cleaned and pressed them at home, and matched the right things together. I had people ask me if I went to a tailor or splurged for Armani suits, and they were stunned when I told them I bought almost solely from the Stafford line at JC Penney's. Also, a person's look is going to be a big part of how nice the more expensive clothing items look (still talking suits and dress shoes here). A fit person that is well groomed, matches his suits, shirts, ties and shoes well, and knows how to wear them will look better than the guy in the $1,000 suit that doesn't suit him at all.

The Greek Orthodox church around the corner from me had their annual Greekfest today. I had two gyros, chicken souvlaki, a small slice of a small Greek pizza, and a small baklava sundae. There was a very long wait on roasted lamb, and some of the other lines were way too long. I am going to try to get some of the stuff I wanted tomorrow, like spanikopita, lamb, and about 10 other items. I love Greekfest.

Was he doing that as a joke? Ugh.

I just got out of the financial industry a couple months ago, and I am very pleased that I did. I was perfectly fine with continuing my own investments (and increasing how much I invested) because it has to go back up. The problem is that the vast majority of us panic in this situation and act like it is much worse than it is. I am not saying we are in terrific shape by any means, but we haven't reached 1929 levels yet. Hell, the DJIA is still going back and forth around the 11,000 mark, a place that we would have killed for it to be at a few short years ago. I am not contradicting what Cheech or Chilly are saying by any means, just giving the investments spin on the situation. Folks that I talked to were scared to death because the market lost big since the start of the year, and they started taking their investments out prematurely. This was stupid for several reasons, including the fact that their investments were not directly involved with the DJIA, yet that is the first thing everyone sees when getting information on the economy from the media; the fact that they took penalties and tax hits on taking their money out of the investments before the age of 59 1/2 or before their surrender charges were gone; they are now simply "burying the money in the backyard," and not keeping pace with inflation. For example, let's say a couple were in their early 50's and had accumulated $100,000 through savings, bonds, CDs, etc. They talked to a financial advisor who sold them on the fact that they could get tax-deferred growth at better rate of return than they had been getting up to that point. If they averaged 7.2%, they would double their money in 10 years. However, with increased reward, their is increased risk. They were told about the surrender penalties, they were told about the taxation, and the fact that it is a variable rate of return and they might have a loss for a quarter, several quarters, or even a couple of years. However, the initial investment is insured. They are sold! All they heard was that for a mere 7.2% average over ten years, they were going to double their money. In the first year, their investment made 11.2%. We'll estimate the account to be at $110,000 after the annual fees are taken into account, just for the sake of it being a round number. Now this year, we have this financial crisis brewing, and they flip their shit because they are at -5.2% on the year. They withdraw their money before it has a chance to lose even more money. What are the consequences? $104, 280 is the balance at the time they decide to take it out. There is a 10% penalty from the government for withdrawing the money before age 59 1/2. There wes a declining surrender penalty each year for the first 7 years of the contract, and in year two, that would have been a 7% penalty. They are also taxed at ordinary income rates on the money they made, which was $4,280. We'll assume they are in a 25% tax bracket. Here is the result: $104,280.00 -$10,428.00 -$7,299.60 -$1,070.00 for a total of $85,482.40. They now do not trust any investment, and they lock it up in a safe due to the bank crisis that is going on. They tell their story to all of their friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc., causing even more panic and a growing unwillingness to invest. This causes the stock market to fall even further, which starts the cycle over again. The moral of the story is that if you educate yourself and don't act like a retard, you can make it through this financial crisis. Yes it will be a little more difficult than normal, but you have to learn where to cut corners. Your investments are not the right place to make those cuts. Go over your budget and see where you are making unnecessary expenditures or where you can trim the fat. You will be surprised how much you can save which will help you make it through the tougher times. Also, there are still banks out there to get loans from, you just have to be patient and make good decisions, like you should anyway.

Hey, I might have sold/rented a couple of the generators you helped build.

Manager at Walker-Cat, a Caterpillar rental and sales company. My offical title is Rental Coordinator.

This is all over the news here. This happened about 35 minutes down the road. The charges have been dropped. Well, the fart charges...he is still being charged with the DUI.