subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
Nikki wrote:

I'm with you on this one.  We wanted to get a car with a DVD player in
it, but they didn't have any available, even though it is an option (I
mean, you couldn't even order one if you wanted to, for some irritating
reason).  Next vehicle, though, will have one for sure, even if I have
to put my foot down and demand that they install an aftermarket one.
;-)  We decided not to worry this time since by the time the lease is
up, the kiddo will only be just getting ready to turn 4, and so probably
won't have the attention span to truly appreciate one anyway (but if
that's not the case, we'll install an aftermarket one).

I like being left alone while driving.  Actually, I like having music
playing while being left alone while driving.  ;-)  I do tend to chat
with DH if he's there, though, but I often eventually say to him that I
need to turn up the music and just shut up for a while, which he is
always OK with because he likes to read or stare outside.


author: Leslie

subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
LOL.  Maybe it's because your kids are littler and you HAVE to pay attention to
them.  I can just tell the big kids to be quiet and amuse themselves.  Believe
me, I like a little peace and quiet too!  That's why I'm down here after
midnight when I ought to be in bed.

Leslie

Emily (2/4/91)
Jake (1/27/94)
Teddy (2/15/95)
William (3/5/01 -- VBA3C, 13 lbs. 5 oz.)
and Lorelei, expected 11/2/04

"Children come trailing clouds of glory from God, which is their home."
                    ~ William Wordsworth


author: Chotii

subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
"Nikki" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...

Well. Some people cannot read in the car - my husband can't even *ride* in a
back seat, let alone read. He gets carsick. One of my daughters cannot ride
in the back seat of the van, so she's in the middle row. I doubt she'll be
able to read in the car when she's older. For short rides (under an hour) we
play music, do memory stuff, etc. and I think that's reasonable. But for
rides over an hour, we use the portable TV/VCR. My attitude is, if I am a
passenger, *I* don't want to sit doing nothing, and I don't care in the
least for looking at what we're driving past. Usually, I'm reading as soon
as the car starts up. I don't see why the kids have to sit, buckled in
tight, and be expected to find enjoyment in scenery that *I* find no
pleasure in, or draw pictures for hours when *I* have no interest in doing
the same. They can't read yet....

I once rode to Colorado with my husband's family. For hour upon hour there
was this silence. The men changed off driving. More silence. I read some,
but even reading gets old after a while. It was, frankly, awful, and I have
no desire to do it again. There is some rumbling about another planned trip
to Colorado next summer, and I don't want to go. No desire to make that
drive myself, no desire to inflict it on the kids. I realise it would be for
a *goal*, but I find the process of getting there pretty much nullifies the
value of the goal to me.

That said, the TV/VCR only gets dragged to the car for *very* long drives.
We drove to Eastern Washington to see my grandparents recently and I wish
we'd taken it along. After 2 hours, they got tired and restless, cranky.
We'd have all arrived a lot happier if we'd been able to put in a video, any
video, educational or Disney or something.

--angela


author: Jamie Clark

subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
I don't think it's stupid at all.  I'm with you, Cathy.  Although we don't
have one, I would like to get one eventually.

A friend of mine has one in her car, but they only use it on long drive --
no movies while running errands around town.  That makes sense to me too.

It's like if I'm on an airplane, I love to watch the movie, even if I've
seen it, because it helps pass the time faster.  If I was in the backseat of
a car on a long trip, with a dvd player, I'd certainly want to watch a movie
or three...


author: Tori M.

subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
"Leslie" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...
attention to
Believe

hehehe Leslie.. I know what you mean!  I should be in bed I have a drs
appointment tomorrow and I just found out my friend that was suposed to be
my doula for free wont have a baby sitter so then I will have to pay for
that and my DH does not like my friend so I may just  have to find a cheap
real doula *sigh*  now I am never gonna get to sleep.

Tori


subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
Angela said:

Everyone must do what works for herself, of course.  But I already know from
experience that all my kids CAN read in the car, that they love playing games
and talking, and that they are avidly interested (as am I) in what we are
driving past.  These are kids who beg to go on drives in the evenings when we
are out.  They don't NEED another opportunity to veg out in front of "the idiot
box."

Leslie

Emily (2/4/91)
Jake (1/27/94)
Teddy (2/15/95)
William (3/5/01 -- VBA3C, 13 lbs. 5 oz.)
and Lorelei, expected 11/2/04

"Children come trailing clouds of glory from God, which is their home."
                    ~ William Wordsworth


author: Tracey

subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
"Jamie Clark" <[email]> wrote in message
news:qIeNc.17282$[email]...

Our minivan has the built in VCR with the screen at the ceiling, between the
two front seats.  I only wish that it was a DVD player rather than a VCR,
but oh well.  I really must say that this device is a wonderful wonderful
thing to have for long trips.

Like Jamie's friend, we never use it for short trips running errands or
going places near home...we only use it on long trips or when we go to our
vacation home (almost every weekend, a two hour ride each way).   Maybe if
we only traveled once or twice a year, I'd say that the kids should learn to
converse and play car games and live without a movie or cartoon on the trip,
but when you spend a lot of time in the car on a regular basis, it is a nice
diversion to have.  And we still sing songs, play car games, make up tongue
twisters, tell stories, read out loud, etc.   Just because we sometimes
watch cartoons (or play video games which we can plug into the vcr) doesn't
mean that is ALL we do.

Tracey in CT


subject: Re: paranoid OR a smart mom?

text:
Tori said:

And here I am, one night later, up past midnight yet again--and no nap today,
either. :-(

Leslie

Emily (2/4/91)
Jake (1/27/94)
Teddy (2/15/95)
William (3/5/01 -- VBA3C, 13 lbs. 5 oz.)
and Lorelei, expected 11/2/04

"Children come trailing clouds of glory from God, which is their home."
                    ~ William Wordsworth


author: stephen

subject: Weight Loss Tip

text:
Fiber is extremely important for weight loss.If your diet is lacking
in fiber,as the average american diet is,you will find it hard to lose
weight no matter how much you lower your calories.Fiber is needed to
bind to excess estrogens in the liver.without fiber your estrogen
levels will get higher and higher thus making it extremely hard to
lose weight.

Stephen-certified personal trainer

http://www.weight-loss-for-women.net


author: rosie @ readandpost

subject: Re: Weight Loss Tip

text:
whaaaaaaatttttttttttt????????????????
fiber binding in the liver?????????????????

rosie


author: Linda Parkins

subject: Re: Weight Loss Tip

text:
Want to *really* get info? Avoid this site, go to www.stumptuous.com
Learn from a woman who's been there, Krista knows her stuff!
Linda


author: BELINDA K BALZ

subject: Re: Weight Loss Tip

text:
How much fiber daily do you recommend for weight loss?
"stephen" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...


author: Tim Fogarty

subject: Re: YOU HAVE FITNESS QUESTIONS...ASK A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER

text:
In <5q443e$dsb$[email]> [email] wrote:

1) don't advertise in misc.fitness.*
2) don't support businesses that do


author: Daniel J. Weiss

subject: Re: Powerbook - Price Lowered!

text:
Or buy mine with a fine floppy drive for 550!
It has 24mb and 500meg hard drive

On Wed, 12 Aug 1998, Stephen M. Sebeny wrote:


subject: Cutting concrete slab

text:
Greetings.  I recently had to break out a portion of a porch slab to gain
access to a broken sewer line.  At least I was told it was broken but that's
another story.  Now that I have a large hole in the slab I want to extend the
hole to eleminate a place where the slab had previously cracked.  Then pour new
concrete in this area.  The total area removed would be about 4 feet by 12
feet.  I would like to have nice even edges like I have seen done with concrete
saws.  These are big machines and I can rent one I suppose but does anyone know
if its feasable to do this using a circular saw and some kind of concrete blade
on it?  Would I be wasting my time trying so use a small saw?  Should I just
spring for the rental for the real deal?  If it can be done with a circular saw
what kind of blade would you recommend?  Thanks.


author: George

subject: Re: Cutting concrete slab

text:
My  experiance has led me to rent the correct tool, no matter the cost.
There is a reason it makes the job much more pleasanter, and most times
faster to complete. Plan  then review. Also find out why original crack
appeared. You might have foundation work to do.


author: Alan Sung

subject: Re: Cutting concrete slab

text:
The contractor who was installing a new drain line in my basement, about 8
inches wide by 12 feet long, rented an industrial looking hand held saw. The
blades were some sort of black carbide grit that wore down as you used it.
As he was cutting, it generated a huge amount of dust. After trying to cut
for about 1/2 hour, he only made it about a foot or two (slab is probably 4
inches thick or so). The blade was also well worn down.

He figured that it wasn't worth it considering the number of blades he would
use up (which you get from the rental store), the time to cut AND the time
to clean up all the dust.

Instead he hired a guy to come in with a diamond wet saw on wheels who
probably spent between 1/2 hr to 1 hr. I think the cost was around $200.
Cost was only for the cuts only, not the removal on the old concrete.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA

"Mike72903" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...
that's
the
pour new
concrete
know
blade
just
circular saw


author: ameijers

subject: Re: Cutting concrete slab

text:
Cheaper to rent the right tool, than to buy the concrete blade for your
skilsaw, and replace the saw when you burn it out. A skilsaw would do it, I
suppose, using an abrasive bit (looks like a piece of gritty masonite.) What
you actually do is saw a groove in the concrete, and then carefully bust out
the side to be removed, hoping the groove gives a clean edge. Skillsaw can
only cut down about 2-3 inches, remember.

Just how big IS your porch? 4x12 sounds awful big to patch. And the patch
will look always look like a patch, no matter how careful you are. Assuming
a 3" slab, 4x12 gives about half a yard of concrete needed. That's a lot of
sakcrete to mix. If you were having the concrete delivered anyway, you'd
probably be happier with the results if you bust it all up and repour entire
slab, or at least to a natural break line.

Just for grins, I'd have one of the local concrete finishers come by and
give an estimate for various options. It may be cheaper than you think,
especially if you do the prep work of busting up the old, making any needed
forms,laying and tying the wire and rebar, etc.,  and there is an easy path
to get concrete in.

Good example of why utility line routings need to be well-thought out, and
well marked, when you build. Getting access later can be a bitch.

aem sends...
Mike72903 <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...
that's
the
pour new
concrete
know
blade
just
circular saw


author: Tom Franklin

subject: FS: 2.1GB Thinkpad Drive

text:
Thinkpad Laptop Drive -- $375
-This should work in TP 770/76x/75x/360/355 models
-This won't fit into "thin" TP760 models
-Thinkpad Drive PN 69H8414 (82H8495)
-I think the drive inside is a DCRA-22160
-4,000 RPM, 12 ms acess, Mode4 EIDE
-No Bad Sectors
-Pulled from new TP760EL
-Includes plastic caddy

This is the drive that came in my new TP760EL (Thick Model) and presumably
is still covered under the remainder of my three year warranty.  Worked
great
in my Thinkpad TP760EL, but I sold the machine and no longer need this extra
drive.

You may have to upgrade to the latest BIOS to get this working in your older
Thinkpads.

See http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/options/products/5342_62e.html for more info on
the drive assembly including caddy.

See http://www.storage.ibm.com./storage/techsup/hddtech/dcra/dcratek.htm for
more info on the drive inside the caddy.

Prices other people want for this drive:
$1,813: http://www.daly.com/CUSTOMER/NIH/02110268.htm
$840:   http://www.cstores.uiuc.edu/center/prices/IBM.html

Price includes UPS ground shipping and COD charges to US addresses (can do
FEDEx for a little more).  Sorry, I have no way to accept credit cards.


author: Van Gyzen

subject: FS: IBM 2.88 MB floppy

text:
IBM 2.88 MB 3.5" floppy drive
manufactured by Mitsubishi
with face for PS/2 Model 40SX
I'm not exactly sure which numbers are important, so here they all are:

IBM FRU 64F4148
IBM ASM 64F5996

MF356C-799MA
P/N 72X6101
Date: Apr 1992

$130 OBO


author: RobZip

subject: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=8-4/qid=1100735515/ref=sr_8_4/602-91
91264-5224658?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B0002KPIBO

I don't know who is responsible for this but I've got to admire their
competitive spirit.


author: Rock Salt

subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
What? page comes up nill

---Now, take ten hrs off and call me in the morning.
I'm not a real doctor, I don't even play one on the CB.
But someone already stole my CB handle "RockSalt" on aol, so Dr is what I
decided to add.


subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
"RobZip" <[email]> wrote in message
news:xlsod.17950$[email]...
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=8-4/qid=1100735515/ref=sr_8_4/602-91

or a tiny URL : http://tinyurl.com/55um8


author: tscottme

subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
Same here:

" PAGE NOT FOUND
There is no Target.com page matching your request."


author: Troublemaker

subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
"tscottme" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...

 Use the tiny url - the other one wraps and you don't pick up the whole
thing when you click on it. It was an ad for an anal massager.


author: Ye Olde Dave

subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
Apropriately enough, you'll likely need one of those after delivering to a
Walmart DC to help heal the wounds?..........

You're never gonna believe this sir but...
When you ship it late
It'll still be late when I get it there...


author: Top

subject: Re: Gotta compete with Wal Mart

text:
"Troublemaker" <[email]> wrote in
news:[email]:

I think we some of those posting in this NG.

Top


subject: Re: Leaking Water Heater?

text:
I told them I'd call them back if the 'leak' persisted.  So far, it has not.

We might qualify as "heavy use".  Sweet Wife made me remove the restricter
plate from the shower head as she likes full-force showers.  40 gallons of
scalding hot agua doesn't last her long.


author: Elliott,Jason (sp

subject: Re: Leaking Water Heater?

text:
More likely is that the temp is to high, and the high pressure/temp valve
let go.
"Phxbrd3" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...
not.


subject: Re: Leaking Water Heater?

text: But I've turned the temp UP, and have had no further problem (yet).


author: Jack

subject: Re: Leaking Water Heater?

text:
Phxbrd3 wrote:

With a high temp, you have a hot water dryer. Wait till it goes out thru the
roof of you house then you'll have to replace it.

Jack


author: Steven A. Zedeck

subject: Reuters Money Network (for Quicken Users only)

text:
Hi all:
I just got an offer in the mail about Reuters Money Network. It sounds good.
Its free for the first month, then $9.95 per month, depending upon what services
you choose. Thats where my question is. It doesn't say what's included in the
base $9.95 rate and what is extra.

Can anyone shed some light on this ??
Thanks in advance.
Steve


author: Stacey Crummie

subject: Re: Reuters Money Network (for Quicken Users only)

text:
Steven A. Zedeck ([email]) wrote:
: Hi all:
: I just got an offer in the mail about Reuters Money Network. It sounds good.
: Its free for the first month, then $9.95 per month, depending upon what services
: you choose. Thats where my question is. It doesn't say what's included in the
: base $9.95 rate and what is extra.

: Can anyone shed some light on this ??
: Thanks in advance.
: Steve
: --
: * Steven A. Zedeck - Hewlett Packard Company, Workstation Systems Group *
: * Advanced Systems Division                    * Phone #: (508)436-5897 *
: * Chelmsford Systems Laboratory                * HP-TELNET:    436-5897 *
: * 300 Apollo Drive; Chelmsford, MA 01824    Internet: [email] *

Steven,
I don't have the quicken interface to the Reuters, but I do have a package
called Wealthbuilder which is now hooked into this network. What happened
was that Reuters bought out a service company called Reality sofware
which wrote the interface to this network. I don't know that you get the
same thing, but I'll tell you what I get.
First of all, the 9.95 price went up to 12.95 for me after being on for
two months. This gets the basic package, which in my case included connection
to a system (over spritnet I suspect) that is actually pulling from multiple
services. The services are:
S & P 500 Marketscope
Dow Jones News retrival
Moringstar Mutual funds
Reuters Newswire service
Daily quotes from somewhere (my guess is the Telescan Text services quotes).
Believe me, for 9.95 a month, you get a lot. This is assuming that you also
get access to the moringstar database monthly updates. This gives you access
to a database (that's on your system) that has LOTS of searchable information
about over 3000 mutual funds. The information is updatable once a month.
If you have more questions, Email me and I'll tell you what I know.


author: John K. Taber

text:
Stacey Crummie ([email]) wrote:
: Steven A. Zedeck ([email]) wrote:
: : Hi all:
: : I just got an offer in the mail about Reuters Money Network. It sounds good.
: : Its free for the first month, then $9.95 per month, depending upon what services
: : you choose. Thats where my question is. It doesn't say what's included in the
: : base $9.95 rate and what is extra.

: : Can anyone shed some light on this ??
: : Thanks in advance.
: : Steve
: : --
: : * Steven A. Zedeck - Hewlett Packard Company, Workstation Systems Group *
: : * Advanced Systems Division                    * Phone #: (508)436-5897 *
: : * Chelmsford Systems Laboratory                * HP-TELNET:    436-5897 *
: : * 300 Apollo Drive; Chelmsford, MA 01824    Internet: [email] *

: Steven,
: I don't have the quicken interface to the Reuters, but I do have a package
: called Wealthbuilder which is now hooked into this network. What happened
: was that Reuters bought out a service company called Reality sofware
: which wrote the interface to this network. I don't know that you get the
: same thing, but I'll tell you what I get.
: First of all, the 9.95 price went up to 12.95 for me after being on for
: two months. This gets the basic package, which in my case included connection
: to a system (over spritnet I suspect) that is actually pulling from multiple
: services. The services are:
: S & P 500 Marketscope
: Dow Jones News retrival
: Moringstar Mutual funds
: Reuters Newswire service
: Daily quotes from somewhere (my guess is the Telescan Text services quotes).
: Believe me, for 9.95 a month, you get a lot. This is assuming that you also
: get access to the moringstar database monthly updates. This gives you access
: to a database (that's on your system) that has LOTS of searchable information
: about over 3000 mutual funds. The information is updatable once a month.
: If you have more questions, Email me and I'll tell you what I know.

You also get stock data for 5000+ (I think) companies traded NYSE, AME,
and NASDAQ.  You also get extensive corporate bond data.

It isn't perfect.  I have yet to figure out how to save a screen (a selection
of stocks) for further analysis.


author: julie MT

subject: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
Well tonight was the first of four labor class that I have to take for
my materity center. My big ass baby of a husband didn't want to go but
agreed to it about two weeks ago. So tonight I get ready to go down
there and he throws a fit. We finally get in the car 2 min after we're
suppost to be there and thank god we only live a mile up the road. All
I heard the whole time was "I already know all this shit!!" These are
class you are suppost to enjoy and learn from. It's a big preg thing
right? And as for me, all the information was what I learned in
college. So, it made me want to back hand him even more!!! Well'
needless to say by the time we got out of class I wasn't talking to him
and then he had the nerve to ask and keep asking "What's Wrong?" "Was
it because I didn't want to go to the classes?" Still not talking to
him and wanting to back hand him even more and even harder, he when to
bed. Thank god! The thing that gets me the most is we always do what he
wants to do and I just go with it because I love him so much. When it
comes time for something that has to be done, that he knows about in
advances, no because he does want to do it. I'm starting to beleave
that i'm going through this alone. I've been taking myself to the doc
appointment , for the last to month, and now this,and he can't blame it
on work because he's not working right now. I would never make him fell
the same way that I did and still do right now, alone in something that
we started together and made a comtiment to. I would never make him
fell so rejected and decived. And now I don't want to go to the our 3
classes that I have to take. I have to go but I want him there, how do
I make him do something that he doesn't want to do? And How am I
soppost to still enjoy it?                  Thanks for reading!   Julie
MT and momo-to-be


author: [redacted]

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
Sorry to say, but he sounds very selfish, my partner was the same about
ante natal classes, but i guilt tripped him into it because these are
for your unborn child, if he wants to be there when you give birth,
then he should take more interest in it and be there during your
pregnancy too. I am sorry but the lack of interest continues after
child birth (once the novelty wears off) men don't take much interest
in children until they can get something back from them. They need a
reason for doing things or a reward if you like. Men, no matter how
old, are very immature. xxx Laura


author: Ericka Kammerer

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
julie MT wrote:

	You can't, sorry to say.  If he doesn't want to do it for
himself, and he doesn't want to do it for you, you can't
make him want to go.  It's just yet another indication that
he's not likely to be there for you when you need him
because he's interested in what he wants, not what you want
or need.  He's making it pretty darned clear that his wants
trump your needs.  You're better off getting the message
now rather than later.

	By concentrating on the fact that you are doing what
you need to do for yourself and your baby.  That may not be
enough to make you enjoy it, but it should at least get you
to the point where you feel comfortable that you are making
appropriate decisions.

Best wishes,
Ericka


author: Kath

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
I agree with Ericka, sadly.  However do not give up on him yet.  Try
writing him a letter explaining all this (in a neutral space, don't use
blame or "you this" "you that").  Explain what you feel in a way that
won't put him in the defensive.  Otherwise talk to your doctor or
midwife and let them do the talking for you.  He might be terrified and
this is the way he is showing it.

I heard something good in NPR once.  A woman said she would not have a
baby with a a man without a "written agreement" on obligations and
plans etc... She said women had a biological imperative and men could
just detach too easily.  Now, before someone gets ready to throw rocks
at me :), I know many men, particularly those in here, care very much
and are very involved.  But not all of us women get so lucky.  My
girlfried for one is going to her yoga/birth classes alone and he just
asked her (in month 8) if he needed to be there when she went to have
the baby.  Now, she makes it work bc she had a pile of women friends
from here to the moon and she is focused on those relationships.  Do
you have a dear friend that can be your coach?  You can make it clear
that you need an informed and dependable coach and so choose someone
who will be that.  Then focus on you and your precious baby and your
relationship with him/her.  Do take care of yourself.  Being angry with
him is ok, we all get frustrated at times, but you should not pay for
his lack of interest by loosing the info, and even more, the support
that you can get by participating in your class.  get a girlfriend to
be your coach and have fun with it.

Hugs
Kath


author: liz

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
I would just leave him to it.   Its his loss, he'll get over it when
that baby arrives.
julie MT wrote:


author: Cheri Stryker

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
julie MT wrote:

snip
snip

The thing that really jumped out at me in what you said was the not
talking to him.  Talking with each other is so important for me and my
husband that we actually put it in our vows.

I'm very much like you in that I get resentful sometimes too, the whole
"we only do what YOU want" thing, and as I said recently, even when I'm
having a complete freak out, I don't want to complain.  But, you gotta.

My thoughts, for what they're worth, would be that firstly, he has some
problem with the birth thing that he's not talking about.  And you have
feelings you're not talking about.  I tend to second the writing it out
idea another poster had, but try to give him some space to tell you how
he's feeling too.

You could have a "whine night", where you both get to just talk about
what's bothering you....

Best to get it out now, than to have a whole bunch of resentment
complicating things when you're trying to deal with a new baby - then
you'd be stuck with a big ass baby and a crying mess-making baby [grin]!


author: Anne Rogers

subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
Ericka replied:

which means the way forward is to make him want to do it, or at least accept
that is a necessary thing for him to do
have you talked about the birth? I think you need to start there, if he
isn't going to be what you need him to be for the birth, then there is no
point in trying to drag him to the classes, might as well start looking for
alternative birth support and if appropriate they can go to the classes. If
on the other hand he is able to be what you need him to be for the birth,
then a better understanding of that will hopefully lead to him desiring to
learn more.
My husband was desparate to be what I needed him to be for the birth and was
very happy to go to classes, unfortunately it's taken me two births to
realise that he is never going to be what I need him to be, because of both
our personalities and needs. However he has done a very good job within his
limitations, but if my sole aim was to not have an epidural, he is not the
person to help me achieve that, he did however protect me from unnecessary
interventions, help me physically etc.

Cheers


subject: Re: My big ass baby and labor classes

text:
Anne Rogers wrote:

	...which is worth doing, but may or may not be possible.
I think it's easier to move forward on this if you accept that
possibility that it may not work and you can't make it work.
When you realize that, you can lay out your case, make your
best effort, and see what comes of it.  If you believe that
you can somehow change yourself so as to magically make him
what you want him to be, you can make yourself crazy in no
time flat (and still not get him involved).
	If he wants to be involved, and feels a need to
step up to the plate and do the right thing, you've got
something to work with.  Then, it's "just" a matter of
communication.  But if he really *isn't* interested in
putting himself out for this, and really only has
intentions of doing whatever is convenient for him when
it is convenient for him to do it, then there's not really
much to work with.

Best wishes,
Erickia


subject: Does USCIS know how long I've been out of the US?

text:
Greetings! My first post...so bear with this bloke and all....

I am a Green Card Holder. I just got back to the US after a 4-month trip
to Shanghai. Arriving in Chicago, the officer asked me how long I'd been
out this trip. I told him "4" months, he stamped my passport - wrote the
words "out 4 months" and that was it. I've done other trips in the past,
some even longer than 4 months, where there have been no questions, some
as short as 2 weeks, where the same passport stamping happened.

Here's my question(s):

1. When the officer writes "out x months" in my passport, does he also
   record this information against my Green Card number in some
   computer database?
2. If not, how does USCIS really know whether or not I live in the US?

Regards,
PSX


subject: Re: Does USCIS know how long I've been out of the US?

text:
Your question is irrelevant, because you have to say the truth under
penalty of law in both an I-90, or an N-400.

So, if you state a different answer on the form and the officer tells
you "Are you lying now or did you lie before?", you will definitely
know that they indeed recorded the info. You will also know that you
don't have much time left in the US, and that that time will be spent
in jail awaiting for deportation

imafan2 wrote:


author: Rete

text:
They have access to the passenger listings of all flights, domestic and
international.  Do they check them thoroughly, doubtful, but if you were
planning on applying for naturalization, I wouldn't use that doubt as a
basis for not being truthful.


author: Joe Feise

text:
imafan2 wrote on 09/21/06 04:59:

They already have the information, since they get the passenger lists from all
outgoing and incoming flights.
This is in their database.

-Joe


author: Ray

text:
I would say they only ask questions that they already
know the answer to ...


text:
Ray wrote on 09/21/06 08:21:

Yup. An easy way to see if the person lies to them...


author: Larry DeLuca, EdM, CSCS

subject: Re: High Impact Aerobics = BAD

text:
[email] wrote:
:             It's true many of our daily activities,  eg,  walking,
: climbing stairs,  etc.,  impose some impact on our joints.  However,
: it's minimal and,  short of staying in bed all day,  unavoidable.  It's
: an irrational leap in logic to conclude that it must,  therefore,  be
: safe to do more of it!

The point is you still haven't bothered to calculate the forces around the
joints for supposed "low-impact" activities.  For example, did you know that
when weight-bearing you can increase the compressive forces behind the patella
from 3x to 8x the weight the leg is bearing simply by bending your knee from
90 degrees to 120 degrees.  All this without jumping!

You can do all the plyometrics in the world, and you're going to have a hard
time generating a comparable amount of force at the patellofemoral joint.

:            You're also confusing recreation and sport with exercise.  If
: people want to jog,  run,  etc.,  as competitive athletes,  or for
: simple recreation,  fine.  No problem,  as long as they understand the
: risks.  I love jogging,  in a pool,  or a beach,  myself.  But,  these
: are not efficient forms of exercise,  and are an invitation to potential
: injury.  Surely you are aware of the high injury rate sustained by many
: recreational joggers?

I am well aware of the injury rates from joggers, but frankly there's a lot
more to it than just vertical impact.  Many runners who have chhronic problems
suffer from biomechanical issues (like hyperpronation, femoral anteversion,
genu valgum, etc.) which predispose them to injury.  For these people running
may not be the best activity.

Also, if you go back a few weeks you'll find some stuff tha tI posted on
injury rates and runners that references a number of articles.  Most of the
data that we have on injury rates (and the data from which the estimates for
upper bounds for ACSM's recommendations for frequency and duration of
activity) come from data on runners and injury rates.  To make it short,
injury rates increase with increasing mileage, and there are sharp increases
above 50 miles a week, and above 5 days per week of training.  However, injury
rates even at these levels never approach anything even remotely indicating
the activity is inherently injurious for everyone.

The data do strongly suggest that a) people limit days of week of training;
and b) that people limit mileage.  Additionally, other data we have suggests
that cross-training is probably also useful in injury prevention.  But that
doesn't make running bad.

:            It's true leg extensions and lunges can cause harmful shear
: forces to the knee.   I've had knee problems  (from jogging!)  and can't
: do them.  Why,  I wonder,  did you select those two particular movements
: to illustrate your point,  when you must know that squats and leg
: presses,  when done PROPELY  (perfect form,  slow and a moderate number
: of reps)  cause virtually no harm to the joints;  on the contrary,
: strengthen and protect them from injury.

I chose those movements because they are examples of movements that can cause
high stresses to joints without impact.  It's quite easy without engaging in
high-impact movement *at all* to create joint reaction forces that are equal
to or greater than those sustained during high-impact aerobic activity like
running.

Moreover, people have spent a lot of time carrying on about vertical impact.
This is primarily for two reasons:  1) it's easy to measure, 2) [as one of by
biomechanics professors says] "Most people don't understand biomechanics."

Figuring out whether a particular movement is going to be damaging or not
depends upon a lot of factors, including innate factors (like the shape of
individual joint surfaces and variations from the mean), injury history,
frequency, intensity, and duration of training, form, footwear, running
surface, and dozens of other factors.

:              THen there's isometrics,  no joint movement
: whatsoever...I've gotten tremendous results from static holds on chins,
: calf raises,  and crunches...surely they cause no joint trauma.

Wrong.  Any muscular contraction around a joint will cause (to varying
degrees) some combination of joint compression forces, joint distraction
forces, and/or shear stresses.  It depends upon the muscular attachment, shape
of the joint, position in the range of motion, the point at which resistance
is supplied, etc.

:              You intelligently stated your point,  Larry,  but your
: premise is indefensibly weak.  I would hope the readers of this NG would
: see through the smoke screen of your Ivory Towerish,  academia-babble
: and not subject themselves to the dangerous activities you foolishly
: advocate...you remind me of a well-meaning Finance professor I had in
: "B" school,  he wrote books on how to succeed in investing--but could
: not afford a decent suit,  and drove to work in a beat-up Hyundai...his
: theories looked great on paper,  as do yours,  but simply didn't work.

Well, you're basing your entire argument upon your personal experience.  If
you want to hear about mine (though I don't think it's entirely relevant) I
messed up my knees badly by biking too many miles and spent months on and off
crutches.  High-impact aerobics, step aerobics (often of the high-impact
variety), and running helped me strengthen the musculature surrounding the
joints, and as long as I train regularly I don't experience any problems.

It's just one story, but it's certainly equally as valid as yours, and proves
that your mileage may vary.

The difference is that I can cite a lot of data on a *lot* of runners, whereas
you rely solely on anecdotal evidence and your own personal experience.  In
the end, this makes your argument much less compelling, since you have an n of
1, and a bunch of rumours.

Also, you really don't know very much about biomechanics.  There's no shame in
that, but after some amount of graduate study in the subject one of the things
that becomes most obvious is that simple answers like "high-impact is bad" (or
even "high-impact is good) don't work for enough people that they're even
worth considering.  The subtleties of movement are much more complex than you
are aware of.  You'll find that Brunnstrom may give you some insight into it -
once you're through with that try Norkin and Levangie's _Joint: Structure and
Function_.

I'm a professional exercise physiologist and fitness educator.  Central to my
professional mission is finding ways to introduce people to safe, effective,
low-risk exercise.  I get no joy from watching people get sidelined from
injuries, and devote a great deal of teaching time to professional prudence in
exercise selection and encouraging people to both use good judgment and apply
sound scientific principles in choosing the exercises for their charges that
maximize benefit and minimize risk.

This doesn't mean that high-impact aerobics (or running or what have you) are
appropriate for everyone.  However, it does mean that based upon the data
available (and there is quite a lot of it) your opinion is simply not
supported.

You can call it "Ivory-Towerish Academic Babble," but I would then counter
that your viewpoint is "uninformed and unsupported."

				       larry...


subject: Re: High Impact Aerobics = BAD

text:
This is a point well made.  The runners newsgroup has an exceptionally high
number of chronic injury posts.  Also, I read one study where 50% of the
runners surveyed in a given NE European country had were injured from running
during a given year.  This IMHO makes a very good case for taking more of a
triathlon approach or spreading out the stress even more.  Also, I would guess
if people would avoid overtraining by limiting a given exercise for two years
that injuries would decrease.

At the same time I have read of some amazing elderly runners.  They are the
ones that I would like to talk to about high impact aerobics and safety.

Sling Skate


subject: Re: High Impact Aerobics = BAD

text:
You make a lot of sense,  Larry.  I apologize for anything
derogatory I may have said or implied about your credentials.  I can't
say I agree with all you've said--there are many divergent theories in
exercise science,  all backed with persuasive supporting studies and
documentation.  I'd conclude each individual just needs to know his own
body and what works best for it,  without permanently injuring himself
in process.


author: Rocky Roads

subject: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
The address I went to this morning did not exist.

I was supposed to be there a 7 am and the place to call for help did not
open until 7:30.

I ended up talking to the answering service and the girl thought she knew
what the initials stood for.  I ended up driving to the place she told me
about and had them call in for me.  They took my cell phone number so they
could get back to me.

I remember thinking, I don't really care if they gave me the wrong place, I
am just happy I do not have to back into that real small alley.

When I went back to the truck, there were 3 people looking at it.  They
turned out to be the people waiting for me.

I was informed I'd have to back into that small alley and they said I had
two choices on how to do it.

Another truck had to move some dumpsters around so I had more room and time
to look things over.  I decided to move some barricades so I could do a
wider three point turn.

When I got ready to back in, a few people blocked traffic for me.  I had to
pull up once darn, but that is certainly better than the 5 or 6 times it
used to take for doing a backup just like that one.

Now for the 6 lane part.

It was just like that U turn I did the other day, except this time, I'd have
to back up after my trailer was almost perpendicular to the street.  I
thought I was going to hit the curb in the middle of the street, but I
missed that.

I wanted to take photos of it, after I backed into where they wanted me, but
I'll probably end up in tighter spots than that.

As for the time off I asked for this week, it looks like I'll be free at 3
P.M. tomorrow.

thanx


author: A. Cain

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Rocky Roads" <[email]> wrote in message
news:c352jv$[email]...
I
time
to
have
but

You get more and more like Bullis everyday.  Tell me, have you stopped
showering yet?


author: Dave R

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
Sober up and you should it the first time.
"Rocky Roads" <[email]> wrote in message
news:c352jv$[email]...
I
time
to
have
but


author: gadfly-x

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
Rocky Roads wrote:

some basic you're on eof those idiotic buttfucks who keeps honest working
peope from getting to work ontime and have no consideration for other
people, you are a fatassed hemeroid having loser. I think you should eat a
shit sandwich.


author: Bzzzt!

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
Richard wrote:

Unlike you.  When's the Panther Mobile coming out
of the garage, Dick?  Must be some pretty poor
mechanics.  Why don't you trot right over to the
garage and show them how it's done?  Maybe
it's an imploded tire or maybe they got air in
the water turbocharger and have to bleed the air out!


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Richard" <Anonymous@127.000> wrote in message
news:[email]...

trailer door?  I do not think I have one of them.

I hate to bug you again Richard, but do you happen to have any photos of
Cheryl Teigs, Cheryl Ladd or Shania Twain laying around?

If not, would you like some?


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
Richard wrote:

maybe you, like the fukcers who make people like me late for work everyday
outta learn how to learn to drive the fucking rig or get a get digging
ditches that you can handle, pedo.


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Richard" <Anonymous@127.000> wrote in message
news:[email]...

I am starting to feel that way, and it might be a bad thing.

I have been real good at that, but not by choice.  ;-)

Getting close to other trucks does not scare me so much backing up as it
does when I leave.

When the people tried to get the last 3 lanes blocked, I could tell they
were having a little problem, so I just started to wheel out there and they
all stopped.

I stated in my first post on this thread that I would probably find a
tighter spot.  That happened already.  At the pickup right after the drop,
the dock was so tight, once I was in there, I had trouble walking by either
side of the truck.


author: Trai' La Trash

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
Richard <Anonymous@127.000> wrote:

Cockeyed? Where I'm from it's called an alley dock.


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Dave R" <[email]> wrote ...

When I backed into a stall at the truck stop tonight, I did it in just one
try.  It is all in the line up.  If I can start in the right place, I can do
it from there.

FYI the last time I went to hooters, I told the girl, that was waiting on
me, that I was a truck driver and to shut me off at two beers instead of
four, because four would put me over my limit.

thanx


author: realitytrucker

subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Rocky Roads" <[email]> wrote in message news:<c380cd$[email]>...

No trailer door?  Exactly what kind of trailer do you pull? Flatbed?


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Rocky Roads" <[email]> wrote in message
news:c35pkh$[email]...
do

And this is relevant to the discussion because...?


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
"Al Murphy" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...

Maybe I should have asked if he has any photos of a woman over 21.  ;-)

Since he did not answer, I am starting to have my doubts about him.

BTW  Hello from Knoxville everybody and in Crashville Tennessee they are
still driving like they are in NashCarVille Tennessee.

thanx and I plan to back out of here for a few days the pest have gotten too
thick for me.


subject: Re: Blocked 6 lanes of traffic today.

text:
A. Cain wrote:

yo Fuckhead, other than obsessing on a possible pedo, what do you
contribute? I command you to answer me.


author: A. C. Pomfret

subject: Diet for Diabetes

text:
I today visited my Practise Nurse and she asked me to see if I could get
any replies for the following questions from people on this news group!

"When you were diagnosed diabetic, what was your reaction to 'going on a
diet?'"

"Were you told that 'diet' was a treatment?"

I hope that people can help me out and answer the aforementioned.

Many thanks


author: Julie Bove

subject: Re: Diet for Diabetes

text:
"A. C. Pomfret" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...

I didn't think I would be "going on a diet".  I thought I would have to
change my eating habits for life.  Of course, I did need to lose some
weight, so I presumed that I wouldn't always be eating reduced calories and
that perhaps I would be able to eat a few more calories if and when I lost
that additional weight.

Yes.  That and exercise.  It drives me nuts when I hear people with diabetes
who think all they have to do is pop a little pill or two and they don't
need to make any other changes.


author: Quentin Grady

subject: Re: Diet for Diabetes

text:
This post not CC'd by email
 On Mon, 12 Feb 2001 15:57:09 +0000, "A. C. Pomfret"
<[email]> wrote:

Reaction???   Darn it no one put me on a diet.
I don't think they'd dare.   As it happened I was diagnosed in about
September in 1998.  The diabetics clinic was being renovated etc etc
and an appointment wasn't scheduled till the following January.
Basically I wasn't foot falling off in the street material so no one
cared all that much.  My first HgbA1c was 9.6 and that wasn't getting
priority here.

What I did was find out the risks involved with T2 diabetes.  Seven
subtly diabolical ways for life to become complicated and die it
seemed.  For a while I debated whether the improvements to be gained
from good blood sugar control were worth the effort.  That took quite
a few milliseconds I can tell you. Then I set about finding the people
who had achieved exceptional results with reducing their HgbA1c and
blood pressure rapidly.  These same people also had improved their
HDL:TG ratio.  I went for the extreme examples as it was clearer what
they were doing.  Then I set out to do better than that.  My goal was
to come up with a diet that meant we could still entertain in style.

Yes.  If you include advice to reduce sugar and saturated fats as
dietary advice.  Apart from that it was joke in poor taste.

I read Syndrome X by Jack Challem published John Wiley and Sons.  It
sets out the dietary principles as plain as day. Plus I talked to
every biochemist I could on the net and listened for success stories.

The hard work was whacking the liars particularly those who mislead
with half truths more than those who tell outright lies.


author: mrandmrs

subject: Re: Diet for Diabetes

text:
no.  My doctor handed me a prescription for pills, a sheet of paper with
an exchange diet on it , a pharmaceutical company produced book
explaining diabetes and told me to come back in a month for more blood
tests.  No mention of a monitor, exercise, etc.  Fortunately I can read
and have the internet.

Dolores


author: Craig & Heather Collins

subject: Re: Diet for Diabetes

text:
Personally I HATE the word "diet".  When DD was diagnosed (Type 1) the
dietician was very good & looked at the foods we ate on a regular basis &
then a few suggestions & modifications were made to the way we eat.  They
also taught us how to work in foods (in moderation) like chocolate, ice
cream and other foods that a child would like.  To me that is not considered
a diet but instead just a slight variation in the way we eat and a healthy
way of eating.

Heather
http://www.execulink.com/~craig/diabetictag.html

A. C. Pomfret <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...


subject: Re: Diet for Diabetes

text:
This post not CC'd by email
 On Tue, 13 Feb 2001 05:17:58 -0500 (EST), [email]
(mrandmrs) wrote:

Fortunately for us too Dolores,

I enjoy your posts.


author: Sammy

subject: Re: Defining Rural/ Just for fun

text:
Tim Sigmon wrote:

City and town folk take a drive in the country to look at
the scenery and drop their old televisions, tires and other
garbage off in the ditch along the way.

Sammy


author: [redacted]

subject: Re: Defining Rural/ Just for fun

text:
"Sammy" <[email]> wrote in message
news:XXWuf.2044$[email]...

Not just their old TV's, fridges, tires etc., but also their unwanted pets!!


subject: Re: Defining Rural/ Just for fun

text:
On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 15:58:23 GMT, <[email]> wrote:

As long as they don't leave their goddamn kids behind.....


author: William F. Hummel

subject: Ibbotson Associates Phone Number?

text:
I am trying to find out how to contact Ibbotson Associates to obtain
their latest "Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation Yearbook".  Any help
would be much appreciated.

William F. Hummel


author: Paul Maffia

subject: Re: Ibbotson Associates Phone Number?

text:
[email] (William F. Hummel) writes:

Bill, here is complete info on Ibbotson.

          Ibbotson Associates
          225 North Michagan Avenue
          Suite 700
          Chicago, IL 60601-7676
          Phone: 312-616-1620
          Fax:   312-616-0404

Ask for their catalogue and to be put on their mailing list. According to
their catalogue, the book is $92, Catalogue # YB95.

It is also available on disk for $395.

There is also an SBBI Semi-annual Report which keeps your '95 yearbook up
to date. Catalogue # SA95, $140.

As you well know, and the other readers here should understand, Ibbotson
is one of the best sources for market data as well as studies of all
kinds, including timing vs buy and hold then the usual garbage we see
from the timers posting here.

Timers don't like Ibbotson's material, just as they dislike Hulbert,
because they disclose just how ineffective timers really are and how
useless the whole attempt to time is.

                                      Paul M.


author: William Rini

subject: Re: Ibbotson Associates Phone Number?

text:
Ibbotson Associates
8 South Michigan Ave Suite 700
Chicago, Il. 60603
(312) 263-3435

-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----
261-4700
---------------------------------------------------------------
obtain
Any help
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----


author: wrob

subject: Re: WMATA

text:
Bentley wrote:

Soon to be the site of a major law firm designed by Hartman Cox
complete with a marquee locally-owned art house (the Biograph) on F
street across from the old Woodies'. (with an ugly back wall facing
Ford's Theater, like the similarly atrocious new group of three office
towers that just went up at 9th and H overshadowing Chinatown.)
Then you have the planned multicultural / sports megaplex (depending
on who gets awarded the land) in Chinatown, the Jemal mega-retail
plex in Eckington on the site of the former nexus of all DC slumminess...
If this city were like Dallas the no-mans land around North Capitol
and I-395 would be eating *into* the core rather than vice versa.

Both. Fortunately, DC's still got a narrow plurality of jobs. When Tyson's
gets metro it might become a satellite city with half as many jobs, but
by that point Tysons will no longer be admired for its supposed suburbanity.

OK, there you go. This dovetails with what I thought might be part of the
problem - the severe loss of retail that puts DC on a par with Communist
Eastern Europe, retail wise, and can only have hurt the working class
neighborhood economy.

I thot he liked subsidies.

No fooling. MCI had committed itself to building a new HQ downtown,
probably on Penna. Ave. They were in talks with DC govt. The new owners,
a Mississippi-based creation of the 90's, broke off these talks immediately,
declaring that "the minority hiring requirements are a problem." They moved
to Loudoun County.

No, not like you. Montgomerians don't windowshop. The closest thing to
an urban experience they have is driving to Lord and Taylor's. Old Town is
a veritable tourist outing for this set. One of them was quoted as saying that
now that Silver Spring was revitalised (as if), he could safely dine and see
a movie in Silver Spring (like he couldn't before), which the County Executive
has repeatedly compared to Beirut.

They're the opposite of redneck, but make no mistake, Montgomery County
is very, very, provincial and Babbittish. (Then again, Fairfax county is ever so
slightly uglier, which must inspire a sense of "bold curiosity for the adventures
ahead!" There are no adventures ahead for Montgomery.)

I'm just pulling everyone's chain. If we don't use our stereotyping skills,
we may lose them, you know. :-)

We're just doing our part to prepare for the Coming War against the
New World Order. The regional militia forces will find themselves stymied
and ground to a halt before they even get a chance to sink their teeth into
a Jubal Earlyburger in downtown Silver Spring.  Stalingrad-type defense of DC
could be easily mounted from all those cheap-looking,
poorly accessible empty office buildings thereon in. :-)

-BER


author: Bentley

subject: MCI racist? (was WMATA)

text:
On Tue, 16 Nov 1999 21:18:02 -0500, wrob <[email]> wrote:

Uh huh. And we've been promised this since, what, 1985?

Face it, that area has been blighted and mostly abandoned for 20
years. And closing traffic on G Street next to the MLK Jr library
didn't do much to "save" that block, did it? (In fact it killed every
single business on that block, and just not has the city gotten around
to reversing that.)

No it doesn't. Fairfax has far more. Tysons alone has 115,000
white-collar jobs (Washington Post, 11/9/99 "Postcards from the Edge
City.")

Actually it no longer is. I suspect we've seen the growth rate peak
for TC, and while it will continue to grow, it almost certainly won't
be at the same rate. If it's not cheap to build there anymore (which
it's not), why build there?

Yes. And I maintain that that loss is coupled with the population
decline.

He does, but he claims they don't exist any more. And when I post hard
numbers, he ignores them. Kinda like the Greyhound bus routes...

Committed? Not that I'm aware of. Discussed, yes.

Again, please name this "owner." Do you mean WorldComm? In that case,
it was a merger.

MCI/WorldComm is a public company. True story. And isn't Cliff
Alexander still on the board?

I would like to hear the source for this (I'm not saying it's not
true, just that I've never heard of it. Nor has my boss, who is a
close friend of Vin Cerf's). A search on the Post's archives for the
words "minority" and "MCI" reveals zero hits.

Now, this WAS the reason DC lost the Redskins. JKC was quite willing
to build the new stadium in the District, until Mayor Kelly started
telling him what he had to do with his own money. Now they're in
Landover and no one benefits...

These stereotypes are disturbing, Brian/Mark. When we make a
widesweeping claim about a broad cross section of people, are we that
far from making a similar claim about an entire race?

What can I say about Mr. Duncan. He's flip flopped more than the
waddles on New Gingrich's waistline. Which means he's an excellent
choice to be Maryland's next governor...

Hmm.

--------
Bentley - Alexandria VA
"What's another word for thesaurus?" -Stephen Wright


author: klaatu

subject: Re: WMATA

text:
wrob wrote:

Well, there's that little matter of the "Extending The Legacy" ("Legacy 2")
plan from the NCPC. However...

I think you've completely overlooked the major new construction at 300 "M"
Street SE, and other nearby large projects expected to be built, primarily
to accomodate NAVSEA's upcoming headquartering at the Navy Yard. Also there
is the turnover of the Arthur Capper Dwellings to the Marines around 5th and
L SE... look, SE Cap Hill is pretty solidly residential, or Legacy 1
"monumental" no-new-construction zone, anywhere to the north of the freeway,
which not incidentally has got to go, or at least have some major
modifications at least to permit pedestrian pass-under.

It's basically been the case that as soon as you pass under the freeway into
"near SouthEast", you go from very nice and upscale directly into
hell-on-earth. Note that the sole real profitable zone right off of S.
Capitol has for the last decade or so been that little chunk of real estate
where Tracks used to be. There pretty much wasn't anything else there,
outside of a hotel or two and some 7-11 type outfits. Now there will at
least be some urban development in the area, and people coming to the area
for something beside getting drunk or scoring drugs. I expect that some of
that really dismal warehousing property will get bought up, as will some of
the low-rent/no-rent housing between the freeway and the rail tracks,
probably with some of that being developed into very modern semi-highrise
(five or less floors, in the District 8 floors is high-rise) mid-density
housing, little or none of it exactly affordable to anyone except for Hill
people.

Feh. Ask anyone who grew up around there, they love to shop there but
otherwise are pretty disgusted with all of the mess it's caused.

I still say that there's an untapped resource for development in NW
Rockville, around Shady Grove. It's actually pretty developed but it's also
physically isolated from the rest of Rockville/Gaithersburg. That might be
for the better, since that's where they've got a lot of the biotech stuff
and the university complexes.

Well, retail's essentially impossible in DC, unless you're trying to appeal
to the upscale, and even then you don't have the margins to make it really
appealing; look at the hideousness that is Georgetown for example. And
parking? Forget it. This might sound fairly silly, but what DC probably
needs more than anything is a decent shopping mall smack in the middle of
deepest Anacostia.

<snips>

Oi, veh iz mir, I can _tell_ you have not been to White Flint recently. Try
it some time. Try going to Magruders on Rockville Pike on the third of any
month. Go to Congressional Mall. Or for that matter, although it's
technically in PG, go to Langley Park. Go anyplace except for the Jillion
Dollar County Dump of downtown Rockville, undergoing urban revitalization
for the fourth time in 35 years.

But you're sort of close to the correct view, people tend to coupon-clip
more than they windowshop, and they tend to just cruise various megamalls
until they find one with which they're comfortable, or having no major
preference, just default to whichever one is nearest.

What's seriously missing is, so far as I know, anything remotely resembling
a youth scene, or any place to have a youth scene for that matter. Though I
suspect that all things considered, that might be all for the best.

BaAH HAhahah!

Downtown Silver Spring has been, for about the last ten years or so but
never so much moreso than about three years ago, the place where the zombies
wander and the other living dead come out at night to frolic amidst the
ruins. You have to have a lot of moxie to walk from the District Line to
Colesville Road after midnight. Last time I tried it, some bearlike thing
wrapped in about five different old rotting sleeping bags shambled brokenly
after me on the far side of the street, not exactly in hot pursuit but you
could tell he was just keeping me in sight in case I decided to sit down and
rest for a minute; and as soon as I emerged from under that scary-ass bridge
under the railroad, I was accosted by some dufus who insisted that he had
the best girls in town, white girls black girls and nudge nudge asian girls,
had their own rooms, too, you'll see -- and this was at about 4AM. Not
another soul was to be seen, aside from some suspiciously moving lumps
barely glimpsed in the alleyways or peering down from the parking garage's
upper tiers. I was, believe it or not, glad when it started pouring down
buckets of rain 'cause that made the creatures seek shelter and I just kept
walking. Silver Spring, three years ago, basically reeked of "move along,
nothing happening here that you want to know about".

If they've managed to clear out whatever was giving it that smell, great.
That alone should do wonders for the place.

Oh yes there are... in about ten to 20 years. There's a grand adventure in
Aspen Hell, hopefully I will have peacefully died in my sleep before the
simmering resentment becomes an hellish orgy of well-orchestrated Total
Replacement on some Night of the Long Knives. Basically, the place is
starting to get that same reek as Silver Spring once had. Night falls, and I
go inside. That's all.

Hey, in all seriousness, most of non-rural Montgomery County can be
adequately stereotyped as being 17, racially/ethnically mixed, speaking good
counterculture english and college bound if they can get a loan, with one
absent foreign born parent; and the other half of MC is probably single
white female 2/3rds of her way to an MBA with half a kid planned for the
future if she can find a politically-acceptable partner before her
biological clock goes off.

I think the county's sole possible salvation is to get those two to dating.

Third World Order. Sure we got invaded, it just wasn't the invasion you
expected, camo-boy.

physically incapacitated by attrition and mayhem long in advance of
commencement of any hostilities not designed to be totally
plausibly-deniable... with massive interpenetration of government and
law-enforcement systems obviating any possible moves towards self-defense
and absolutely precluding any group reaction, aided and abetted by leftist
government-sponsored disarmament initiatives...

Not worth defending much of anything in the District, outside of the Marble
Zone and the national treasures and constitutionally mandated governmental
elements.

I think the plan has always been to just let the enemy get in place, monitor
their levels of readiness, and once they're ready, let 'em take over,
mothball everything that can't be moved, evacuate the legislative, judicial
and executive high-ranks, and then saturate the region with a very high
level of neutron radiation. In short, DC cannot be defended, so if it gets
overrun, you stand off the planet and nuke 'em from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.


author: scott

subject: Kilz vs. smoke

text:
I'm in the process of purchasing a brand new house.  A few nights ago
some kids got in it and started a fire.  Luckily, the fire was small
and isolated to the kitchen.  There is moderate smoke damage to the
rest of the house.  Everything's being replaced in the kitchen, and
the rest of the house is being repainted.  The builders suggesting
using Kilz to suppress the smoke smell that may have absorbed into the
walls.  Has anyone had any experience w/ Kilz trying to cover up the
smell of smoke?  I'd hate to move into a house I know will smell like
smoke forever.  I'd appreciate any info out there....Thanks!

scott


author: Speedy Jim

subject: Re: Kilz vs. smoke

text:
scott wrote:

Had experience with a house thoroughly impregnated with cigarette
smoke after 35 years of chain smokers.   After washing what could be
washed, we used Kilz on walls/ceilings before painting.  Completely
solved bleed-thru of stains and contained odors.

Jim


author: rich

subject: Re: Kilz vs. smoke

text:
Also schrieb [email]:

It sounds from the other poster that Kilz works.   Hope the cops can
catch the kids and make them do the application of Kilz.


author: HeartStuff

subject: CARDIO MONITOR WATCH $89

text:
We have a heart monitoring wrist device that displays your heart rate
and beeps when the rate reaches an upper or lower limit.

This tells you how effectively you are exercising your heart. It is a
revolution. Instead of judging your workout by how much you sweat,
monitor your cardio-vascular system.

http://www.perfectpresent.com  -- Money Back Guarantees.


author: Jella

subject: Bank account?

text:
I came into the States with a K1, got married, and filed my AOS & EAD
applications, which were accepted into filing. I am under the assumption
that while I am waiting for the AOS interview, and do not have a social
security number, I can still get a bank account. But all the banks I
have looked into seem to require an SSN. Is this true? Is there no way?
All I need is a cheap, preferably free checking account, nothing fancy.

Thanks,


subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Cool. Thanks for letting me know. As I am not a resident, my
International license works fine for me...for driving anyway. Of course
once I become a resident, then that's different altogether, but by that
time the license will have run out anyway.


subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Well, I tried getting one. Ran into a problem; Wells Fargo will not open
one without two photo IDs, such as a passport, and a driver's license.
Since I don't have a driver's license, they suggested I get a Texas
State ID, but I'm not a US Citizen OR a Resident Alien, so I don't meet
the requirements. The reason I never got a TX driver's license was
because I paid $ 1,400 for my driver's license in my old country, and I
have an International Driver's Permit, therefore I figured there was no
reason to start wasting money on a TX license.

You might think it is not a big deal, but why should I have to get a TX
driver's license just so I can open up a bank account? This does not
make any sense to me whatsoever.

They wouldn't accept a birth certificate or a visa or anything else that
I offered as proof as to me being me. Geez.


author: Rattus the RAT

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
I just opened a free checking bank account with no SSN, very easily.

RAT

"Jella" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...


author: TheWanderer

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Just go to the bank with your passport. They should open one.

"Jella" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...


author: Maarten Andriessen

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
"Jella" <[email]> wrote in message
news:[email]...

There may be a few banks still that allow opening an account without a SSN,
but most banks require one. I guess the main reason is that the terrorists
that flew into the WTC had their flight training (727 simulator) paid for
with an account that had no SSN attached to it, opened up under a false name
with a false ID. A certain. O. Bin Laden could transfer money into it quite
easily and paid for expenses the terrorists had to prepare for their evil
deeds.

Nowadays banks check the SSN to see if it matches the name on the ID you
supply to prevent this from happening.

I think there are some banks that allow you to open up an account with
certain tax information - in case your SSN is already requested but I don't
know the details of that.

Maarten


author: dunroving

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Originally posted by Jella

You can get a bank account w/o a SS #. International students here do
this all the time. It usually takes less than one week for them to get
the account, check book, ATM card, etc.


author: smeg

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
In article <[email]>, member12112
@britishexpats.com says...


author: Pulaski

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Originally posted by Jella

The problem you have is the recent implementation of the USA Patriot
Act, which has tighen up very considerably the requirements for opening
a bank account.  Anyone who tell you that it wasn't a problem for them
or their friend is almost certainly talking about an occasion more than
three months ago, when the law changed.

It is possible to open an account, but not easy.  See if you
can find a bank where you can speak with the manager (as opposed to a
clerk who just "follows the rules"), and take lots of
documentation with you - your passport and correspondence with the INS
as a minimum.  It might help if you can take your USC husband with you
to vouch for you too.


author: Blatt

subject: Re: Bank account?

text:
Jella <[email]> wrote in message news:<[email]>...

An International license has no validity for a US resident. If you are
driving in Texas with a foreign license and you are a Texas resident
you are probably uninsured as well as unlicensed, since your insurance
policy requires you to have a valid license. See:
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/driver_licensing_control/faq/answers_dl_id.htm#q1

"1) I am new to Texas, what do I need to do in order to get a Texas
license?
A new resident moving into Texas who has a valid driver license from
his home state, has 30 days after entry into the state to secure a
Texas driver license.ï¿½In addition to testing, all first time original
applicants must visit a Texas Driver License office and present and do
the following: Texas Transportation Code 521.029..."


author: Ex-ExPatriate

subject: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
I just returned to the United States after 17 years away.

And now I feel like a 17-year old again.

Why?

Because I need to buy a laptop and am asking for $2000 credit limit on
the purchase.

I should have taken the first denial (from B of A, a bank where I have
kept a checking account for 30 years!!) as a clue.

Wells Fargo:  declined.

Washington Mutual:  I am sorry, sir (she must have been
thinking..."flake"..."deadbeat").

Golden 1 Credit Union:  they wanted me to pay a few dollars to become a
member so that they could have the privilege of denying me credit.  No
thanks.

I tried an online app twice, one at WaMu, another at HSBC
Nevada...offering 26% APR...usury at its best.  "Credit denied."

I feel like a leper.

I completely financed TWO auto loans in the 1980s, but do you think they
have a record of it??

If I had 10 bankruptcies and 14 defaults in my history, you can believe
that these banks would have it tatooted, pierced, and branded hot on my
body.

But good credit??

Actually if I had very bad credit, they'd give me a platinum card, pre-
approved and activated, with a $50,000 limit, so I could do a balance
transfer and pile on even more debt.

In fact, the answer on my credit report comes back that I have "limited
activity of debt" or something like that.

My solution:  the secured credit card:  maximum $250 limit and after I
put $250 matching cash on deposit, and if I am good boy for---what?---6
to 12 months.

And now you know why I feel like a 17-year old again.

In the 1970s and 1980s, I had never had a credit card and saw no need to
have one.  I saved.  And I often had enough in savings that when I had a
special costly need, I had the cash on hand to buy it outright.

Now I have returned to the US and left my entire net worth ($150,000
over 17 years, upper middle class by developing country standards) to
the benefit of my ex-wife and child, from whom I have separated
physically and likely legally.  I returned at the end of June with the
shirt on my back, but with a professional position at least waiting for
me, and one I have had for about 2 weeks.

I also returned to the US with the apparent inability to be able to
borrow $1 from a bank.

NOW more than ever is the time I depend on a bank to get credit...to get
me from the roughness of a difficult transition with zero in one's
pocket to a position of keeping me running.  Unfortunately the banks in
the US and the banks in other countries don't trade information with one
another.  While I may have been an excellent borrower abroad, the
records of my creditworthiness in a foreign country don't translate well
across borders.  So while I may have a high score in Timbuktu, I am a
worthless bum in the U.S.

===

You can be sure I will get past this problem.  I am hitting up family
for the cash to get me through the transition, and will pay them back.

And yes, I may one day soon (be forced to) buy a new car at 18% APR on a
highest-risk class auto loan.  Maybe.

And to be sure, when I pay that off in 4 or 5 years, I may start seeing
in the junk mail a pre-approved, activated credit cards with $50,000
limits.

And you can bet that I will write on the envelopes of each and every one
of unsolicited credit cards:

   "Return to sender, with my sentiments that the sender
    should go fuck himself."

Where were these banks when I really needed them!!???

I intend to put up a web page at my site that expresses this sentiment
and why I think the finance industry is wrong to give credit to proven
deadbeats and scoff at people with virtually no mark---good or bad---on
their records.

Anyone who disagrees with me about how and to whom credit is extended
and banks do business I encourage to reply to my post.  God knows, I
could be wrong about something and might benefit from true
enlightenment.


author: Porgy Tirebiter

subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
Change your name to "Pedro Ramon Gonzales" and go apply at Bank of Assholes
(B of A).
They specialize in giving illegal aliens loans for HOMES. Sad but true...it
would work.
After you change your name to a COMMON Beaner surname, you can effectively
hide
from the ex :)
Imagine them trying to find a "Gonzales,Hernandez,Lopez" good luck hahaha!
Use the "System" to your advantage.Unless you have been fingerprinted
recently, your in.
Welcome to America "Pedro"....


author: mark

subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
Ex-ExPatriate wrote:

time to march into B of A, sit down with a live human being, and have a
little heart to heart talk about 30 years together.

if that doesn't work.... time to change banks

I have only been with Regions bank since 2004, but last year, they helped me
get my credit straightened out, with a bank loan, that went directly into a
CD for 18 months.

I am now 11 months into the program, and have a good credit rating withall 3
credit reporting agencies. In February 2008, Iwill have $1,000 cash, plus 18
months of interest off the CD.

if you go to b of A, talk to someone, and they won't loan you money after 30
years, I would be prepared to accept a cashiers check, made out to you, for
the amount of all your accounts, and go find a new bank


author: Mikko Peltoniemi

subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
Ex-ExPatriate wrote:

Yes, unfortunately if your credit file is thin, this is what you'll have
to do. Get a secured credit card, and get it from a company that doesn't
max the card out immediately with fees and charges.

That's not enough yet. Then you have to use the card. But don't use it
too much. About 10% of your credit limit is best. So with $250 credit
limit, that would be $25 per month. Always pay in full.

Then, after about 6-12 months you should be able to get an unsecured
card, and start building credit.

Just remember, it's a game. There are many things that are wrong with
the current system. But the creditors have the money, so they set the
rules. You can bitch and moan about it, and maybe even complain to your
congressman. But right now, your best bet is to learn the game and play
by their rules.

Maybe some day it'll change. But right now, if you don't follow their
rules, you're the one who ends up paying.


author: [redacted]

subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
On Jul 21, 8:24 pm, "Ex-ExPatriate" <[email]> wrote:

I'm no expert, but I share your view that lending practices are out of
whack, especially when it comes to credit cards and/or small loans.
IMO, these lenders are so arrogant in believing they can not only
determine our credit worthiness and financial character, so to speak,
but they also think they are able to say when are for what we need
financing.  I swear this country is full of sheeple who let themselves
be controlled by a corporate executive oligarchy.

Since you asked, I would say you are making the mistake of thinking
you are dealing with 'people' when in fact you are dealing with a
'system'.  This is reflected when you got the same response from
multiple lenders.  They are all part of the same machine.  There are
no 'people' anymore who make decisions about these sorts of things,
just mouthpieces being told be a computer what to say.

Above all it's really appalling that your own bank of 30 years
wouldn't do a thing for you.  If someone has gone that long with a
decent relationship with their bank, and then they still won't loan
anything, it's an obvious sign that the system is rigged.


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
In article <8922a$46a503fb$4b583b9f$[email]>,
[email] says...

Did they take a security (collateral) interest in the CD?  While
restricting you from withdrawing the CD, until the loan is paid
off?  Meaning that, if you defaulted on the loan, they would
still have their money?

If so, that is much, much different to financing the purchase of
a computer or other consumer item.  Because a computer can be
extremely difficult to repossess.  And it would lose significant
dollar value as soon as it left the store.  Or even be worth
zero, if physically damaged.  Items like that are much worse risk
for a creditor, compared to a car.  And much, much worse than a
CD deposited in their own system.


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
In article
<[email]>,
[email] says...

If someone wanted to borrow money from YOU, wouldn't YOU make a
decision about how YOU viewed that person's credit worthiness?
And then base your granting (or not granting) the loan on that
view?

Also, note that, the original poster is talking about the problem
of basically having zero credit history at all.  Thus, the
prospective creditors aren't judging him negatively.  But rather,
are saying that they don't have enough information to understand
the risk level.

Would YOU lend money to a stranger without any information
concerning his/her past credit behaviour?

In the US, it is relatively easy to get started with building up
a credit history.  There are plenty of countries that don't even
have secured credit cards, and only have a small number of banks.

Banks and other lenders aren't making any decision about your
need for financing.  Their decision is about THEIR willingness to
lend THEIR money, based upon the potential risks (and profits.)

If you already have a credit card, the bank isn't going to tell
you what you do or don't "need" to buy.  Although they may refuse
to lend any more of THEIR money (or may increase the interest
rate, etc), based upon spending/debt patterns indicating fraud or
instability.  Some issuers also deny gambling transactions, due
to legal issues (online) and also due to the risk of the
cardholder behaving irrationally and flushing his/her finances
down the toilet (thus defaulting on the debt.)

They don't tell you whether you are allowed to charge a video
game, or a doughnut.

When a creditor restricts the purchases for which they lend, it
tends to relate to one of two issues.  A particular store may
have their own credit card, where you can only buy stuff from
them.  Or there can be a need for collateral of a specific item,
like a car or a house.

Do you feel that creditors are forcing you to borrow money from
them?  Or do you feel that they are somehow controlling you by
restricting the circumstances in which they would lend you THEIR
money?

If YOU refused to lend me some of YOUR money, would you feel
guilty about somehow controlling me?

That's right.  Banks have thousands of current customers, and
thousands more people applying for credit.  They don't have time
to get to know you as a personal friend, or to evaluate you on a
emotional level.

A lot of it is basic, universal common sense.  Again, would YOU
lend money to a stranger, without any information on his/her
credit history or general financial behaviour?

You mean the human beings at the bank aren't your personal
friends?  That's perfectly normal.

"Rigged" for what?  Banks and other lenders are businesses.
Their function is sell services (including renting out some
of THEIR money) for a profit.  They have zero inclination to
victimise any individual or class, just out of sadism.

I would never base a personal friendship on financial
needs/wants.  Likewise, I would also never feel that a bank was
obligated to be my personal friend.


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
[email] wrote:

yep.

my banker called the other day, asking did I need to borrow more...

nope. lets paty that off, and in February, I will be set


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
[email] <[email]> wrote in
misc.consumers:

Sir/Madam,

If I may be so bold:  in the U.S. there is a principle of jurisprudence
called the "innocent-until-proven-guilty" concept.

Are you saying clearly that this principle absolutely does NOT apply to
assessment of credit worthiness, that is, "an-okay-or-good-risk-until-he-
shows-he's-a-bad-risk"?

Can you please explain the paradox----the likely true horror stories---of
companies in the finance business extending insane credit limits to those
who actually have bankruptcies and defaults on their record?

In fact, can you explain the "balance transfer" craziness, in which one
bank loans even more money to a guy who has shown he is unable to pay down
the original principal and multiplying interest on another credit card
debt?

Isn't it like giving a glass of water to a guy who is splashing around
screaming, "I'm drowning!"??

True.  The developing country where I lived (Republic of Turkey) virtually
has NO personal banking services at all...whatsoever.  People were afraid
to put their money in the banks, in fact, because the government did not
insure accounts and the fact that several bankers absconded to Carribean
islands after embezzling the deposits.  They now have a regulator in
Turkey, but people don't forget the past so easily.  At any rate, the
banks now take all their deposits and buy government bonds (the ultimate
safe credit risk) instead of doing business/home/auto/personal loans.  The
best thing to happen to the United States was the Roosevelt-FDIC era
banking reforms that made personal banking possible.

I particularly agree and have no problem with this.  Once I get the
paradox above explained to me.

Although they are within their rights to inform you what they consider
good judgment in spending, or in using credit for spending.

I am particularly talking about unsecured credit, not secured credit, or
the process by which a bank protects itself in recovering the loan in case
the borrower fails to make repayment for the loan value in cash
installments.

My own answers to those questions are "no" and "not relevant,"
respectively.

I am simply pointing out that lenders are actually giving more credit to
those with a history of bad credit---indeed, those who are in fact swamped
in debt and paying on one debt account by opening another debt account (a
loan kiting or ponzi scheme)----and they treat those with NO credit
history like lepers.  This seems bizarre to me.

They used to.  And they had thousands of customers back then too.

Although I suppose if you were born after the 1970s or 1980s, I suppose I
could understand how you might think otherwise.

Exactly HOW does a lender understand my "general financial behavior" by
telling me to give him $250 cash on deposit (to be returned to me when I
close the credit card account with a zero balance AND/OR "graduate" or
"get upgraded" to an unsecured account) and then allowing me to buy things
and pay down the credit card with a matching $250 limit.  Oh, and also PAY
the lender 25% APR on the borrowings (while he holds my $250 cash
security)...in other words, my paying the lender exorbitant interest
charges just for the privilege of showing him how I use the credit card?

Bankers used to be in the business of assessing borrowers for risk, and it
had nothing to do with whether there was a personal relationship.  They
used to ask, "how much do you make?  How long have you been at your job?
Have you moved around a lot, or do you show stability in the job and your
residence?"   Things like that.  It's called "reading people."

But I will help you out here:  in my original post, I said that I had
financed TWO auto loans without so much as a default or late payment or a
call from the repo man.  That was in the 1980s, when I was between 20 and
30 years old (I was born in 1960).

A personal banker would ask me about this, and find it in my records, and
say, "Sure enough."  And he would say, "Well, why haven't you done
anything since 1990 in terms of using credit?"

And I would reply, "Well, sir, I have, but your bank is not interested in
seeing how I led my life in a foreign country, is it?"

The banker would then say, "Well I doubt I could understand the foreign
language in any credit report, but based upon your good character and your
two 48-month paid installments on two auto loans in the 1980s, I am going
to assume you are indeed a good credit risk, and give you what you ask for
($2000 unsecured credit)."

That's TRULY PERSONAL banking.

Not formulaic, run-through-a-mindless algorithm banking.

The customers take your attitude as well.  Which is why I will pull my
checking account out of the bank when I decide another bank maximizes my
profit and satisfies my maximum greed.

Why should I show loyalty to a business of any kind even though it might
have shown loyalty to me???

There is no room for sentiment, or getting to know the local proprietor on
a first name, friendly basis.  After all, this is business we are talking
about.

To those slightly higher-priced-than-Walmart mom-and-pop shops:  hey!
mutate or vacate!  evolve or dissolve!  every dollar counts in my wallet!

<extreme facetiousness off>

We're asking the banks claiming to be in the "personal banking business"
to reformulate their risk assessment algorithms so that they actually
evaluate risk, and not use simplistic inputs that actually give credit to
confirmed deadbeats and deny credit to people who have NEVER demonstrated
bad credit, even if they've have not shown GOOD credit either in the last
20 years.

Do you think that makes sense?


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
In article <[email]>,
 [email] <[email]> wrote:

If I made a VERY LUCRATIVE BUSINESS out of CHARGING people for the USE
of MY MONEY and thus CONTROLLED the flow of cash to NOT ONLY CONSUMERS
but other BUSINESSES as WELL, thus having a LARGE IMPACT on the ECONOMY
of the NATION in which I OPERATED, then yes, I would not only feel
guilty about my ARBITRARY denials of credit, I would expect my business
to be HEAVILY REGULATED in pursuit of the INTERESTS of the population of
that nation.

Capiche?


author: LDC

subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:32:59 GMT, "Ex-ExPatriate"
<[email]> wrote:

You still miss the point.  It is not a case of you having "not shown
GOOD credit in the last 20 yeas" but rather a case of you having NO
credit history for 17 years.  There is a huge difference.

You deftly avoided answering the question if you would loan money to
a perfect stranger with no available history, only recently in the
country, no assets and only 2 weeks at a job.  Would you?

You keep talking about your car loans in the 80s.  That is totally
irrelevant to today.  You would be screaming like a stuck pig if you
were denied auto insurance because of a signle at fault accident
that happened 20 years ago. People change and circumstances change.
You you left the country for 17 years, which is fine, a lot of
people do that.  But don't expect anyone to pretend like those 17
years didn't happen.

The banking industry owes you nothing and you owe them nothing.  But
if you want to use their money you need to play by their rules.  You
should expect nothing less.  Yes, going back to the way business was
done 50 years ago would be nice, unfortunately it isn't going to
happen.  The world is a different place than it was 50 years ago.

Nor is it your role to try to tell the banks how to do their job. If
they want to lend money to those you identify as having bad credit,
they are free to do so.  You can be assured they have determined
they make money on such transactions.  Likewise, they have
identified that people who dissapear from the system for 17 years
are terrible risks: they left once, they can easily do so again.

I suspect you can get a loan if you really want it.  There is an
outfit called Cash Call that will lend to anyone with minimal or no
documentation.  Their interest rate on a $2600 loan is an absurd
99.25% (yes, ninety-nine+).  Not attractive, not recommended, but
available.

The banking industry is far from a paragon of virtue.  I deal with
them as little as possible, choosing instead to use a local credit
union.  If you are looking for personal service you should join a CU
and establish a relationship with them.  After you have done so, you
should be able to get a loan at reasonable terms, but it will take
time.

Until then, there are lots of laptops available for a LOT less than
$2000.


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
LDC <[email]> wrote in misc.consumers:

I think you have missed something here.

Instead of machine doing the thinking from an algorithm that was not
properly written to begin with, we now have a banker----a live, warm-
blooded human being (at least when he goes home to spouse and family)----
who can---what is they say?----"think outside the box."

If he thinks INSIDE THE BOX, he sees an applicant who has no credit record
whatsoever for the last 17 years (age 30-47).  But low and behold, he now
goes back to 1982---25 years ago----just 8 years beyond 17 years----and he
sees a 22 year old financing a couple of student loans and even two auto
loans---and then he drops off the map at 30 years of age.

Now how is that a person between 22-30 years of age has all that credit
activity, and then at the age of 30, just drops off the radar??

The thinking-outside-the-box banker---you know the one whose TV ads claim
"personal, caring services"----puts that question to the applicant.

Answer:  "Quite simple.  I lived outside the country for 17 years"  (shows
banker his passport, banker leafs through it, nods in agreement).  "And I
have all my financial activity in a foreign country and all my net worth
tied up there too, for the benefit of my child and her mother."

Banker:  "Well, you certainly showed good credit between the age of 22 and
30 years, and although we don't know what you did between 30 and 47 years
of age because you lived abroad, in all probability, you were good about
your credit there too.  I see no reason why we can't give you unsecured
credit with a small limit and see how you do for the next year with that."

Tell me an algorithm tied to an online web interface can handle a case-by-
case basis, as it really SHOULD, and not treat the credit process as some
sort of factory assembly line operation.

I just gave you a scenario above in which---yes---I absolutely would do it,
because the algorithm is faulty in assessing all cases.

Why????

How in the name of all can a person of good character in the 1980s NOT be a
person of good character in 2007, especially where there is NO HISTORY
WHATSOEVER of that person EVER being a person with faults---at least when
it comes to managing finances???

It is ENTIRELY RELEVANT.

Really?  Do you have evidence of what you say??

If I want someone's record from 20 years ago to be a factor in the process,
what did I say to you to indicate that I do not want ALL OF THE RECORD to
be inspected, not just the "goodness" of the person's actions??

It would be entirely logically inconsistent for me to demand that we only
inspect the good part of the record and not the bad part.  NO, I think if
one wants a record from years ago to be relevant, then they must allow the
WHOLE of the record to become part of the evaluation process.

Sorry, but a lot of what is person is become engrained and set when they
reach adulthood.  A person who shows evidence of having developed good
habits such as good financial management is VERY UNLIKELY to suddenly
acquire the fault of poor financial management.  Ignorance is at fault for
much poor financial managment, and once corrected with education, a
borrower goes from a poor to good (or at least better) manager of personal
finances.  Few banking industry members would ever assume that a person
goes from a good to a poor manager of personal finances unless they have
evidence of some mental defect  (onset of neurodegenerative processes, or a
psychological change in which the person no longer wants to function in
society).

"...pretend like those 17 years didn't happen"?  Why would I pretend they
didn't happen?  I left the country and lived overseas!  Is that a felony??

I am trying to explain that I did live 17 years outside, and that I lived
them as a good manager of personal finances overseas, just as I did in my
early adulthood in the U.S. for which there is a record of it, should
anyone actually want to read that record!

And by this statement, you are saying that the industry does not owe me the
time to look at my credit history apparently.

Well, if the banking industry has YOU here to defend its practices and
certainly not to object to them, then yes, why should it change?

Really?  You mean that Homo sapiens has evolved to have two mouths and only
one ear, and third eye on the forehead?

Or you mean to imply that over the last 50 years (I am not even that old,
so how would I really have experienced what happened 50 years ago!), things
have really gone downhill and bankers no longer want to think for
themselves and would rather leave the job to a poorly written algorithm?

Huh???

Now you are telling that the customer has no input at all??

Tell me something:  which do you think the banker would prefer?  (You can
choose only 1 of 2)

1) The customer to give suggestions to the banker has to how he can do
better business practices that would please the customer, while of course
balancing the interests of the banker.

2) The customer to get really irritated and pissed, and let the banker know
that he is doing business badly by letting his feet/wallet do the
customer's talking for him...that is, by pulling out all his money and
business from the establishment WITHOUT WARNING AT ALL, and before walking
out the doors, saying to the workers inside the bank, "All you assholes
have seen the last of my business of 30 years here."

I know we live in hard times when morons-pretending-to-be-capitalists are
running the country and encouraging cutthroat philosophies in doing
business, but do you really believe that a banker would prefer choice #2,
in which he says to the customer: "You don't like the way we do business,
sir?  Well you are always welcome to take your business with us elsewhere."

Do you seriously believe that???

So the kind of individual I described as having bad credit is NOT someone
YOU would identify as having bad credit?   I think your answer is important
here, because it would tend to establish whether you are dealing in reality
or not.

How are they extracting it then from the debtor?  Of course banks never
take a loss at all.  If they can't get it from the deadbeats, they pass the
costs off on to their responsible customers in the form of higher APRs of
fixed prices for services or fees.  Everyone knows that.  But it really
doesn't make sense to run a ponzi scheme in the belief that a guy with
$20,000 in unpaid debt should be given $22,000 in a "balance transfer" and
let him run off with another $2000 of the people who conscientiously pay
their debts.

Huh???

What did the banks lose WHATSOEVER because a guy did not borrow and/or
steal from them in 17 years!!???  Are you going to tell me that the man
denied them usurious interest payments, and thus is not someone they can
fleece???

Can you explain the "logic" of that statement above!!

I gave you a list of institutions that denied me credit.  Even the ones
offering usurious rates and wanting to molest my first-born!

Why didn't you just recommend I go find a loan shark with a big pipe?  You
would have been more courteous at least.

I am not wanting virtue from the industry.  Just a little goddam common
sense.  There is no connection with virtue here.

I can do that with a bank too.  The credit union really won't treat me
differently than a bank anyway.  In the end, if I want to put my money
anywhere, it will obviously be with those who give me the best return and
with my intent to pull the money out just like that, and not even respond
to their requests for why I no longer do business with them.  Do I really
owe them that courtesy, in this world that is different from the one of 50
years ago?  Certainly you should have no problem with me being as rude as
possible to these people, right?

A decent laptop---such as the one I managed to buy just this past weekend
using money borrowed from family (something that people also do in
developing countries, by the way!)----costs precisely $1528, and after an
electronic recycling fee is applied it along with sales taxes after all the
fees are tacked on, the final bill is $1649 and change.  If that is a
"LOT" less than $2000, then I guess you're right.  Oh, I don't think that
comes with a case or e-bag, so no, my costs for the laptop are not done.
Probably you can add another $50 and taxes for the bag I need to carry it.


subject: Re: Can't Get Financing For A Laptop!

text:
On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:54:53 GMT, "Ex-ExPatriate"
<[email]> wrote:

You'll note that I said "there are lots of laptops available..."  I
never said you couldn't find one that cost close to $2000.   I did
say you could find many that cost substantially less.  (This is
especially true in the highly competitive California market you were
shopping.)  Apparently you have a Champaign taste on a beer budget.
(It is you that said you have no assets.)

In any case, the issue is resolved.  You got the personal service
you were looking for, just as you would have after you had taken the
time to establish a business relationship with someone.  Instead you
wisely chose to call on an already established relationship, a
family member.

To expect to return to the US after 17 years and instantly qualify
for a signature loan at a reasonable interest rate with no credit
history, no recent job history, no assets and no real ties to this
country is Pollyannaish.

Based on past posts to this newsgroup you have not experienced your
last difficulty in reestablishing yourself in the US after an
extended absence.

Good luck on you new job and restarting your US life.