11/23  "Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto"
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/sci_climate_09_post_kyoto
        \_ what do you propose we average Joes do about climate warning?
           Oh really? Yeah, exactly.
           \_ Make life choices which reduce your carbon impact.  Communicate
              with your representatives that you consider this an important
	...

8/20    I'm researching into properties around San Jose. They say that the
        only desirable areas in San Jose are Almaden and Evergreen. I
        did some research and property values for these two are prohibitively
        high (one in the 800K, and the other one over 1M). Is there anything
        else in San Jose that's not dumpy?
        \_ How about Willow Glen?  Depends on what you find desirable.
	...

3/19    Communist/Socialist House reps pass bill taxing bonuses at 90% for that
        portion of the bonus that pushes you over, for individuals, total AGI
        > $125K ($250K married) working at an entity which took >= $5B in TARP
        money.  A disgrace to meritocracy.  Cost of living in Manhattan is
        expensive you know??  It's a good thing it only starts for the 2009
        tax year!
	...

1/21    One datapoint on rental prices, please post yours if applicable.
        Please don't give me this "this is why I buy a home" crap. Not
        everyone has money:
        -S Cal, $2055/month with 9 month contract expired. Signing one
         more year=$2055/month, month-to-month=$2255. Bunch of empty
         parking spots and people moving out, but according to the
	...

10/14   Has anyone raised chickens in an urban environment? My friend's HOA
        in SF is vague enough to allow chickens in his backyard (2 units),
        and we've been doing some reading and talking to people who have done
        this in suburban areas, but was wondering if anyone had any specific
        advice.
        \_ Each city has it's own ordinance.  For example, Oakland doesn't
	...

10/8    Thinking of going back to Silicon Valley. How's the job market
        right now in the middle of the housing crisis? Are companies
        hiring or laying off in general? Are rent + home prices stable?
        \_ 1 hiring freezes at many large companies
           2 layoffs of bottom 5-10% common
             \_ my company NEVER does big layoffs. Always letting people
	...

8/25    You too can have 250 sq feet for only $280K
        http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/08/24/BUTM12GQMI.DTL
        \_ Totally, utterly ridiculous. It didn't work for the tiny little
           Japanese many years ago, it's not going to work for Amerikanjins.
           \_ What do you mean it didn't work for the Japanese? I thought
              that this was a normal size for a Tokyo studio.
	...

8/22    I'd like to rent out my condo. What's a good place besides
        craigslist to post my listing? I don't want to go through craigslist
        anymore after a bunch of bozos didn't show up, or were people
        with bad credit rating, etc. I don't mind paying a little (5%)
        for listing, credit check, etc. Thanks.
        \_ You can hire a property management firm to do all the dirty work
	...

8/19    Quick landlord question. If I'm paying X interest per year to a
        rental property, does that mean I can write off X from my income?
        Or do I do a (home-value)/27.5 depreciation for Schedule D? Can
        I do both?
        \_ You can do both, but you add the rent as income. I think you
           know this, but it's the value of the improvement (less land)
	...

7/16    Support air-drying laundry.  Save energy.
        http://www.laundrylist.org
        \_ I just learned that a friend's home owner's association has a rule
           against drying laundry outside, even in your backyard.  I'm still
           flabbergasted by this.
           \_ Why? Some won't even let you keep your garage door open
	...