[poorgradstudent]

Well, they do say “and more”. My guess is they’d like to stay in LA/OC/Riverside for filming but aren’t totally closed off to coming down to SD for a “change of pace” episode or two.

Given the under 600 price tag I’m guessing this is in the genre of “buy a fixer-upper house you can actually afford then upgrade it (on the network’s dime)” kind of show.

Of course, unless it comes with those kind of incentives, I don’t know why anyone would want to be on HGTV.

[poorgradstudent]

I love Fry’s so much.

[poorgradstudent]

Looks like unemployment is finally starting to catch up in what has been a largely jobless recovery.

Of course, since employment is often a lagging indicator, this probably means we’re coming to the end of the cycle. So all your permabear piggs will probably be right in the next year or two.

[poorgradstudent]

There’s nothing wrong with alternative, testable hypotheses in science.

But the autism-vaccine link hypothesis has been pretty thoroughly tested and disproven. Autism is caused by a combination of genetic factors and environmental triggers. Mercury exposure *can* trigger autism in some individuals, but this is they type of mercury pumped out by industrial smokestacks, not the type found in vaccines.

Autism is especially tricky because it’s strictly behavioral in terms of diagnosis (at this time) and it truly is a spectrum disorder. Some autistic individuals don’t even like it being considered a disorder at all, any more than being shy or liking adrenaline rush sports are considered disorders.

Fortunately we understand Autism now far better than we did a decade ago, and are making more progress every day. Better real answers do help avoid the public at large trying to fill in the blank with anecdotal conjecture.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=FlyerInHi]It’s funny, I don’t see Rand Paul agitating to prevent the military from vaccinating service members, which they do.

The government also forces immigrants to get vaccinated before they get entry or residency visas.[/quote]

Not to put words in his mouth, but I’d imagine battle-readiness concerns outweigh other concerns for troops. It’s generally accepted that volunteer military members have to give away a lot of personal liberty, including where they choose to live.

Immigrants are not protected by the Constitution.

I’m not saying the personal liberty argument is a good one, but Liberty vs. Security is a constant balancing act, and at least it *is* an argument, as opposed to playing with false facts.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Amgen

There are a lot of spin offs in Simi, West-Lake and Valancia.

OK technically some of that is in Ventura county but it’s all part of the same general North-LA region.

I have worked in all three locals (also Arcadia).

I would add in L.A. a hour commute is considered reasonable LOL. I do know quite a few Amgen employees who live in Valencia and even Arcadia and Westwood.[/quote]

I’m not completely poo-pooing Amgen and its spin-offs. From the stats I could find it has more total biotech jobs than San Diego… but also a lot more population.

Per capita and total jobs, North Carolina is probably the spot to be right now for biotech jobs. The big five markets (NY/NJ, SF Bay Area, Greater LA, San Diego, NC) are all equivalent enough it really depends on individual job offers and where a person wants to live.

Boston is a trickier one. They used to be booming, but these days it’s mediocre there on top of a very high cost of living.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=AN][quote=flu]I think for the by far the best place to work for geeks is orange county. I think you get above SD pay, and you’re company selection is more competitive. Down here, there’s not as much to choose from. Up in the the bay area, there’s a lot more to choose from, but cost of living is also insane up there.[/quote]Well, it depends on which industry you’re in, right? If you’re in biotech, I’m sure there are more jobs here than both OC and bay area. Same goes for defense. Not all geeks are the same. But in general, I agree that there are more jobs up there than down here. Which is why cost of living is also lower down here. I haven’t looked at OC in awhile, but the last time I did, relative to wages, it’s still cheaper down here than up there. This might just be because my requirement is a little unique.[/quote]

There are more total biotech jobs in the bay area than san diego, although the level of competition is probably comparable. For biotech SD is way better than LA/OC.

[poorgradstudent]

Rand Paul’s second comment is truly idiotic. The first comment at least presents itself as more of a moral opinion. I disagree with that opinion, but at least it presents itself as an opinion.

Personal liberty vs. Common good is a debate worth having when it comes to vaccines. I fall pretty heavily on the common good side. There are a lot of personal liberties we give up for the common good, some more frustrating than others.

Clearly Rand Paul is pandering to anti-science fools rather than sticking to the less onorous personal liberty approach.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=AN][quote=SK in CV]If they use a home office exclusively for work and there is no other local office, then there might be a small deduction. If they use their cars for business, they can write off a piece of the cost, exactly like you can. They can write off their cell phones if they use it for work and it’s a 2nd cell phone (can’t write off 1st cell phones). Bottom line is, they can legally write off costs that are related to the business. Not unrelated costs that improve lifestyle outside of work.[/quote]W2 earner can’t write off any of that. I have a home office that I use for work. Can’t write that off. I have a car that I use to take myself to work and back. Can’t write that off. Biz owner can have the company pay for the car and maintain the car, so it’s not a piece of the cost, it’s the entire cost + maintenance. Biz owner can have their company own the cellphone contract. I don’t know about you but having your computer, cellphone, car, etc. paid for does improve their life style. Especially if it allow you to have extra money to spend on other stuff.

Let me put it another way. Lets say a W2 earner and a biz owner both making $200k (based on their taxable income). The W2 earner would have to pay for the stuff I listed and more with their after tax income. The biz owner can have a lot of those stuff paid for through their biz. So the $200k can be use purely for their enjoyment to enhance their life style.

BTW, I thought you said it’s fantasy and does not exist?[/quote]

The kind of tax write offs you’re talking about are potentially fraudulent. I know for a fact the rules on home offices are pretty strict if you want to follow the tax code to the letter. If not… well, then just make up a number you think is fair to pay the government and hope you don’t get audited.

[poorgradstudent]

[quote=spdrun]Wait till every network starts offering streaming. They have sort of a monopoly … for now. But nothing they do is unique.[/quote]

I’d be hesitant to throw out “monopoly” when Amazon basically offers the same service at the same price. But you’re right to point out Netflix doesn’t have much of a moat for their digital content distribution system.

[poorgradstudent]

Anyways, there’s no way Boehner or McConnell will pass anything like this, so it’s like me saying I deserve a free pony.

[poorgradstudent]

I believe capital gains should be taxed as regular income.

[poorgradstudent]

Besides the water advantages, a lot of succulents are pretty low maintanance. During the warm months maintaining a yard can mean one weekend day every weekend, or paying someone to provide the equivalent.

[poorgradstudent]

I’d call most of these yellow flags more than red flags. Definitely cause for concern and full investigation.

When we bought our house the inspector did basically tell us something like “but you can’t really be sure until the next time it really rains” about some stuff. Water doesn’t flow ideally off our house/lot and we need to make some repairs, but we knew about that going in.

The bottom line is to weigh the price your offer was accepted at vs. the percieved risk. I know that neighborhood, it’s gorgeous and central, but the houses can be very old and have all the associated problems. There is something to be said for walking away if something *feels* off rather than dealing with it for years and years or $$$. But there will be something wrong with every house, even brand new construction.

[poorgradstudent]

I think it’s a decent way to generate value stock ideas and identify sectors that may be undervalued.

I see potential value in Big Oil companies right now. The market tends to swing too hard in both directions with either good or bad news. Oil is not going to stay at $50 a barrel.

KO and MCD face some serious long term challenges. They may have picked most of the low hanging fruit in terms of international growth, and there really is a trend among younger consumers away from junk food.

Merck and Pfizer also face some pretty serious challenges, as the era of the Blockbuster Drug may be over. As someone who works in Biotech, I can tell you the cost of developing new drugs keeps rising while the profits don’t necessarily increase. Any new drug has to be better than existing products. Merck is a better run company than Pfizer; Pfizer has serious problems top to bottom and I wouldn’t want to work there.

I rather like GE and CAT. Not too excited about Telecoms, although they sort of feel like utility stocks at this point; fairly safe, decent dividend. Who is planning to stop using their cell phone entirely this year? Anyone? So the market is pretty stable, even if it’s mature.

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