[XBoxBoy]

[quote=FlyerInHi]If the owners say no to a move, then can’t the city also say no to a stadium?[/quote]

They could, but as you point out, the local politicians clearly lack the cajones to go that route.

[quote=FlyerInHi]I am actually for squeezing NYC type density into the mission valley parcel to make the project pay for itself and more.[/quote]

If the project would actually pay for itself, and make the city a profit, then developers would pay for the stadium themselves and keep the profits. But of course talk of how a stadium with development pays for itself is just BS. It completely ignores the costs that come with new neighborhoods, and developments.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=paramount]Looks like the Chargers are making it official: they are leaving San Diego.
[/quote]

I hope this ends up being true. I’m so sick of their extortion and even more disgusted by our leaders. (yeah Faulkner I’m looking at you) It’s downright embarrassing the way city council and the mayor threw all negotiation leverage out the window and started making wild proposals with tons of tax dollars when they thought the chargers might actually leave.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it is at all settled that the chargers will leave town. If the NFL owners say no, (and they will say no to at least one of the teams that wants to move to LA) then the chargers can’t leave San Diego. (In which case all us taxpayers better get out the Ky)

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=Balboa]Can this possibly be accurate? (See attachment). I don’t know where Redfin gets these numbers from[/quote]

Balboa, how did you generate those stats on Redfin? I’d like to do the same, but I don’t see or know the right links to click, etc. Can you fill me in on how you got that?

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=Escoguy]We just don’t buy them.[/quote]

That sorta explains why the pix are so expensive. If only a couple parents buy them but the majority don’t then you gotta soak the ones that do to pay for your time to take pictures of all the kids.

But I totally agree with you Escoguy. No need to buy the formal pictures. It’s not like most parents don’t already have a ton of pictures of their kids.

[XBoxBoy]

This week’s Economist had a really interesting letter to the editor touching on how well known the strategy of having your software detect testing and modify emissions to look good in the testing is:

[quote=Letter to the Editor in Economist Magazine]In 1998 America’s Environmental Protection Agency reached a $1 billion settlement with heavy-duty diesel-engine manufacturers over their use of precisely the same software approach as VW. There were literally hundreds of articles discussing this use of engine- controller software in technical, popular and engineering-news journals. Media reports show that officials from the EPA were present at a meeting in 1994 at which an EPA staff member discussed control strategies based on the test cycle. This demonstrates that at the very least the EPA had notice that electronic engine-controllers were being programmed to detect tests as early as 1994. It is impossible for any competent regulator to have been unaware of what was going on with other diesel engines after 1998.[/quote]

Here’s the link: http://www.economist.com/news/letters/21672008-letters-editor

If all this is true, then it is far less likely that a rogue programmer or two inserted the code without anyone up the food chain being aware.

The full letter is fascinating also because it calls for regulators to be held accountable for failing to detect this and honestly if true I couldn’t agree more.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=spdrun]Yeah, DSL runs over twisted pair (often old, 1940s-era twisted pair). Cable runs over a shielded coaxial cable.[/quote]

So is the type of wire the only difference? If the phone company put in shielded coaxial would they be competitive with cable service? How much wire would need to be replaced? (ie from the telephone poll to house, or from switch box to house, or from central office to switch box to house?)

If shielded coaxial is so much better why hasn’t the phone company switched years ago? Presumably it wouldn’t have taken much insight to see the business opportunities associated with better connections.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=no_such_reality]LOL, a top VW exec blamed a couple rogue software developers for the emissions thing

[quote]“This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason,” Michael Horn, VW’s U.S. chief, told a House subcommittee hearing. “To my understanding, this was not a corporate decision. This was something individuals did.”
[/quote]

Wow is he that clueless or just that boldface of a liar? Or worse, he’s telling the truth and VW really has no idea what has been encoded into their engine control modules?[/quote]

I’ve wondered this since the story broke. How high up the food chain was aware of what was going on?

Depending on how much code review was going on, it wouldn’t be hard to slip something like this in. Over the years, programmers have slipped all kinds of things into applications and games. But what would be the motivation of a software engineer to do this?

My guess is that a directive to get better performance probably came down the food chain, and someone shrugged and said,
“Okay here you go, I’ll just turn off the emission controls. There fixed that.” It’s funny how crazy things like that can happen in a corporate environment where the bosses don’t want bad news, only good, and employees are pressured to show results at whatever costs.

Just a guess though. Could also be that plenty of people knew and VW is just trying to cover their collective ass.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=flu]
Dumb question. What’s the best wait to reduce all that fat around the waist/abdomen?…. Lots of crunches everyday? [/quote]

Eat less.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=cvmom]
Assuming she decides to stay in the apartment, it sounds like you all think that no matter what remediation is done, it will not be sufficient. Depressing but still good to know.[/quote]

If she does stay would suggest this:

Find all sources of moisture. Leaks in the roof, or from apart above. Leaky sinks, etc. Places in the bathroom where caulk has dried out and water can get behind boards. Fix those.

Removal of all materials (wall board, studs, baseboards) with mold or exposure to the moisture. You can’t just dry out moldy areas, you must rip them out and replace them.

Thoroughly dry out any areas with moisture.

Replace all materials, making sure that enclosed areas are dry and will stay dry.

Remove all carpet and replace with materials less likely to hold moisture or mold.

I have my doubts the landlord will do those things, but there they are.

[XBoxBoy]

cvmom,

I’m no doctor or expert, but I have personal experience with mold and health. Based on that I have a simple message: Please tell your friend to move out! Find a new place. Whatever it takes. Short of massive remodeling, this place will not be okay for her.

My wife developed asthma from a place we lived in that had mold. It took a while to figure out this was the issue. It took even longer for my wife’s asthma to subside to a manageable level, but even now exposure to mold causes her asthma to flair up. The longer your friend is exposed to the mold the more it will impact her immune system and the easier it will be for her symptoms to reappear.

When this all happened to my wife, we approached the landlord and basically offered that we would go quietly without fuss. (Cleaning the house on the way out) He thought for a minute then agreed. Hopefully, your friend’s landlord will be the same. The landlord is going to want her to move out rather than sue him over health issues caused by his apartment. (Which is an option) So, the landlord has some interest in settling this without legal wrangling.

But most importantly, if your friend has developed allergies and breathing problems she is now going to be much more sensitive and should look for a new place.

Some suggestions for allergy sufferers:
Slab construction rather than crawl space
Hard floors, no carpet.
Carefully inspect for any mold. (Back of bathroom cabinets, etc)
Minimal cloth curtains, shutters and blinds are better for allergies.
A hepa vacuum cleaner.
A good hepa air filter (Blue Air)

Allergies like this are a real pain as exposure to the allergens weakens the immune system and makes it easier to get colds and other symptoms.

Good luck
XBoxBoy

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=bearishgurl]
I have a 1.5″ red oak dining room and hallway which has been professionally finished and is still beautiful but those planks have long since been discontinued as they were used from about 1948 to 1952 (when the 2.5″ planks began to be used en masse). On the back of these original planks, it says “Hurtsboro” (a mill in Kentucky at the time).
[/quote]

If you are trying to match solid planks, (not laminate) go to Frost Hardwoods and they can mill you just about anything you like. Unlike Lumber Liquidators and other flooring places, Frost is a full service mill.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=Rich Toscano]So I just don’t see this as being a big issue for San Diego housing as a whole. It’s a big city.

[/quote]

Hi Rich, let me start by stressing that I don’t see this as a big issue, particularly for SD housing as a whole. My view however is that this will impact areas that are popular with QComm engineers. (And probably overflow a bit into more expensive areas where management and those with large stock options would have bought. Or long time employees would have been move up buyers.)

Note my previous post:
[quote=XBoxBoy]If it is true thousands laid off in San Diego, then I would think that’s enough to impact housing market.[/quote]
We got 1314 layoffs. Not into the thousands, but over a thousand. So the impact will not be large. Will it be large enough to show up in the charts you put up every month? Maybe, but maybe not. But I do think it will be large enough to impact specific neighborhoods. (Note though that impact is not equal to collapse)

[quote=Rich Toscano]So even if 4k people get laid off from qcom, that’s less than 1 month’s job growth. And that assumes that none of these people will find other jobs in San Diego, which is of course not the case. Given the general state of the tech industry as I see it (which is: techies are in high demand), I would be surprised if even half of the people had to move out of town. Let’s say 40% have to leave — now we are down to about 1 week’s worth of San Diego job growth to replace those folks.
[/quote]

I don’t think this is a fair argument. While undoubtedly some of the people will find jobs in SD and not move, for everyone who does stay, there is one less person moving into SD to fill a vacant job. After you lose the 1314 jobs, the number of people employed in jobs that pay well and the number of houses available remain the same regardless of who moves and who stays. And the bottom line is there are now 1314 fewer well paying jobs in SD. And that translates into fewer buyers and more sellers which in turn impacts where supply and demand balance. (Regardless of who stays and who goes)

[quote=Rich Toscano]
That said, I could see there being an impact in the surrounding areas that are popular among QCOMers. If enough people need to move, there could be a bit of a mini-glut in that area for a while. But I would view that more as an opportunity for people who are looking to buy in those areas — not as a game changer for the overall housing market.

Do you think I’m missing something?[/quote]

No, I think we’re more in agreement than disagreement. I probably think there will be more of an impact for three reasons: 1) Psychological impact due to job uncertainty, 2) not agreeing with the some people will stay argument, and 3) (something not yet mentioned) stock options of QCOMers in the past were a source of big down payments, but QCOM stock options probably aren’t as lucrative as they used to be.

Lastly, I’ll also mention that while I’ve been a housing bull for the last several years, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time to shift towards bearishness. House prices have been going up around 10% a year for several years, yet general inflation has not, nor has wage growth or incomes. I think we’d both agree this can’t go on forever.

So I wonder: when does this run up start to slow? to stall? does it turn back down or just ride steady for a while? One thing I did learn from 2006 is that house price trends are like aircraft carriers. They take a really long time to turn. Could the QCom layoffs put pressure on that turning? Personally, I think so. But QCom layoffs won’t turn the housing market all by itself. No where near. But QCom layoffs along with other forces? Maybe. But more importantly, I think it’s imprudent to extrapolate the current trend out indefinitely into the future. (But I half suspect you’d agree with that principle too, even if you disagree with other details of my argument.)

XBox

[XBoxBoy]

[quote]Additionally it could face a fine of about $18 billion, or $37,500 per car, federal environmental officials said.
[/quote]

If they in fact end up with a fine of $37,500 per car it is enough to make any manufacturer think more than twice about doing something like this. Of course after litigation, they could end up with fines much less.

What I wonder is how did regulators find out about this? A whistle blower? If the whistle blower gets say 20-30% of the fine, that would be a pretty big paycheck for turning in your bosses.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=Escoguy]Even if 20-30% of these employees actually left San Diego, one can assume the ownership ratio is somewhat higher than the general population but at most a few hundred homes would come on the market and these wouldn’t be distressed sales. So best case for buyers, there may be a little more inventory.

As inventory is so low, one can only think this would be a small step to normalization but far from the basis for any larger correction.[/quote]

I think it’s important to also keep in mind the psychological impact on the employees who do remain. All of them will now be much less secure in their jobs, and so less likely to buy a house. While I won’t make any claims that this will cause a housing collapse, I don’t think you should dismiss this as being negligible.

[XBoxBoy]

Looks like it’s gonna be 1,314 people laid off in San Diego.

1,300 Layoffs Underway at Qualcomm in Cost-Cutting Move

[Author]

Posts