Game time! Cruzin’, Scandle, Fucking Assholes at Bear Stearns

Game Time!

I just posted up a link to a First Person Shooter that I’m proposing we all get together and play one of these days (probably right after I get my new home), and maybe play one night every two weeks or so.

I’m planning on hosting the “event” and doing it twice a month so if people can’t make it to the first one, the can make it to the second one.  I’ll probably set up some sort of voice app (even if it’s just using something like Skype) for us all to use (I’d use Ventrillo, but, I don’t have a Vent server).

The game runs good, pretty old school style, and the graphics scale REALLLLLY well (IE, looks great on modern machines, runs good on old machines or horrible 3D machines.)

Sooo…. what day is best for most people to do something like this?  I was thinking like during the weekday (we just don’t play REAL late) so that it conflicts less with weekend plans 🙂

Cruzin’

Well, finally pulled the Land Cruizer engine.  I’ve been dreading it, because I really really didn’t want to see the scared up cylnder walls.

As luck would have it, it’s not screwed.  One of the bearings went out on the bottom side, scaring up the cam (it’s gonna have to be turned down it looks like, but we’re talking 1/005 in.) This is good news, and gets a lot less expensive to repair.  It’s now setting on a motor stand, and I gotta find someplace to take it to, have the cam turned down, etc., and have it returned to me shortblocked.
 
The Geo is so fucked it’s not even funny.  It runs, but just barely.  I’ve sunk $250 into it so far, and trade in value on the car is $500 or less (since it’s a salvage title.)  Hrm.  I have a REALLY hard time putting money into something that I A) hate, and B) isn’t going to improve in value reguardless of if it runs perfect or runs like shit.  *SIGH*

Hopefully this week I’ll find a rebuilder, and get this situation over with.

This Is How You Handle A Scandle.

So, Spitzer gets kicked out, and we all have a good laugh at $4500 / hour prostitutes.  New Gov. steps up, a blind black man (Black didn’t surprise me really, but blind kind of caught me off guard!)  And within hours, him and his wife did the smart thing:  they fessed up to a scandle that would have been heard about eventually.  (Long story short – they both had sex with other people when their marrage was on the rocks, but went to counciling, decided to save the marrage and did the right thing.)

Fuck yeah!  Now THAT is how you handle things.  Just walk up, say “Yep… so here’s what happened.  Now let’s move on to real work…”  About fucking time.

How You Don’t Handle Business

Bear Stearns gets bought by JP Morgan and Chase Co.  That unto it’s self would be a bit shocking given the age of the companies involved, but they got bought for just a bit under $240 million.  $2 a share.  Their BUILDING is worth 1.2 Billion.

Welcome to the collapse.  2 years of bad shit until our next bubble for investment kicks in.  My bet is the next one is an Energy bubble driven by the increase in oil prices and the speculation on new Alternative Energy.  Though I’ve also heard speak of a Web 2.0 bubble (‘specially caused by companies like Facebook having inflated valuations.  Facebook had a valuation of $12 Billion for a bit.  Everyone had a good laugh at that, and moved on 🙂

Long story made short – look for the death of the Sub-prime lending for about 5 or 6 years.  Even if banks will DESPERATELY want to continue doing it (sine the fed rate dropped to 3.25%, and there’s a rumor that it’s gonna drop to 2.5% on Thursday of this week – to rapid cuts in a row) since the money will be just so damned cheap!

Hopefully what that results in is more business loans (which are risky, but, even on a failed business loan there’s a good return on equipment, IP, etc. after a bank siezes assets.).  More business loans means more expansion in the business sector (B2B stuff mainly – consumer service stuff is gonna be screwy for a year or two no matter what happens.)

Huh.  It is any wonder I’m a Republican(‘t) for life – business is usually my first interest when thinkin’ about this sort of thing 🙂 (Even if I’m gonna vote Obama.)

I’m hoping this doesn’t domino – there’s a 50 / 50 chance in my mind it will.  Loose too many of these greedy assholes, and the US will have a serious problem on it’s hands (actually, Japan, China, US, EU, and Russia.  We all own large pieces of each other’s debts these days 🙂

Anyone else follow this real close? 

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