2021 eff yeah [Archive]

Rare White Ape

January 25th, 2021, 05:09 PM

So I will kick things off, with a bad thing :rolleyes:

I just spent $605.15 on extracting a 15cm long piece of nylon carpet underlay filament from one of my cat's arse holes. I thought it was a flea strike at first, judging by her behaviour, but I checked for fleas in her fur and spotted about 10mm of the material poking out.

Plus it's a public holiday here so my normal vet is closed. Off to the 24hr emergency vet. He lubed her bung hole and started pulling, and out it came with a lump of poo attached to the far end. Next was an untrasound to make sure there was nothing left. There was none, but they found a section of intestinal wall with some irritation which thankfully has not opened out to her abdominal cavity.

Consultation plus procedure plus ultrasound plus two sachets of gastro food. Open your wallet. Have a good day.

She is happy to be home again and eating straight away.

G'day Mate

January 25th, 2021, 05:16 PM

After Max had to have a sock surgically removed (idiot dog likes to eat socks) I looked into pet insurance but figured out we were probably much better off self-insuring by just chucking $2/day into an account to cover any other emergencies. I think he's rich enough now to be able to replace himself even! That's at pre-covid prices though ... not sure how much a doberman costs nowadays.

Rare White Ape

January 25th, 2021, 05:38 PM

Yeah pet insurance seems disproportionately expensive. "Disproportionately" is disproportionately hard to type, by the way.

But the vet said they've had pets in a similar but more serious position than mine that end up costing $12k for gut surgery.

I just looked up a quote for insurance with Woolworths (of all places) and they quote $14.67 a fortnight for basic cover, or $22.03 for standard cover.

Standard cover would have paid for up to $300 for consultation, but at $572.78 for the year I'd still be out-of-pocket by a long way. And that's per year. She is 6 years old!

BUT, that seems reasonable value when you consider the cost of emergency surgery, and as with any insurance cover, all of that is a gamble. Basic cover appears to cover up to 80% for surgery costs.

I have two cats. Something for me to weigh up...

Tom Servo

January 25th, 2021, 06:30 PM

Not sure how pet insurance is over there, but people I know in the US that have had it say you pay into it, file one claim, and they drop you immediately afterwards.

Other than the attempted coup, my 2021 has been pretty good so far. Our cat's injury healed up well enough that at 1am on New Year's day she was playing with the new cat, it really set a good start to the year. I track down an RTX 3080 and have been enjoying that. Our bathroom remodel just finished, so that's pretty pleasant.

from one of my cat's arse holes.

I completely misread that as though your cat had multiple arse holes.

FaultyMario

January 25th, 2021, 06:54 PM

I completely misread that as though your cat had multiple arse holes.

I wouldn't expect less from 2021 than a cat with multiple bungholes.

JoshInKC

January 25th, 2021, 07:02 PM

We had pet insurance on our old dog, heidi and I think it worked out to our benefit in the end. But then our vet was some sort of premiere platinum associate thing which meant that we only paid like $25 for normal yearly check ups and dental cleanings and we never had any major medical issues with her.
We don't have it on either of our current dogs (or the cat) because the vet we now go to* really doesn't like pet insurance companies due to exactly the kind of thing described above.

*Greyhounds have some specific things going on that means they can't be treated like normal dogs or they'll die. Fortunately it's generally not anything expensive, just a little different - like if they need to be sedated, a completely separate chart needs to be consulted for dosage/body size.

Cam

January 25th, 2021, 07:26 PM

I’ve really lacked motivation to do much of anything lately. Am I depressed? I really miss hanging out with people. We would go out for a meal and a drink at least once a week. We would often host friends for dinners or go to their homes for meals. That has not happened in a year. :(

The one thing I have been doing and enjoying is sim racing. My bro and I have been teaming up for some endurance races. It has been really great. We play the occasional game of MudRunner too.

drew

January 25th, 2021, 07:40 PM

I'm fairly certain in the last 7 years, between the 5 cats we've had (3 currently, two others are not with us), we're somewhere around $8000. Every time one of them goes in for a check up, it's $200, and I usually buy food (special "UR" food) which tacks on another $80 (for a 12 pound bag, ffs). Our 3 week trip to Italy in 2018 cost us almost $1500 to get them boarded...

The solitude doesn't really bother me too much. I've always kind of been that way.

Although, when this shit is over, there will be some Cam-n-beers.

Rare White Ape

January 25th, 2021, 07:55 PM

I wouldn't expect less from 2021 than a cat with multiple bungholes.

Technically cats are all arse hole.

Phil_SS

January 26th, 2021, 06:03 AM

Although, when this shit is over, there will be some Cam-n-beers.

Shotgun!

Crazed_Insanity

January 26th, 2021, 06:24 AM

Technically cats are all arse hole.
:lol:

Anyway, after spending nearly $15k to fix our 1st cat’s broken leg, we figured insurance is a must. Don’t want to shell out that much money ever again!

Things have worked out for our other cats when one had a thyroid issue which required radioactive iodine therapy... and another one requiring knees surgery due to some genetic issue... they all would’ve cost me thousands of dollars.

Thing is you need to insure them young, so they’re cheaper. As they get older, insurance will become quite expensive and they’re very good at not covering preexisting conditions...

Of course the cheapest way is probably amputation or just putting them to sleep when they get old, but if you love your pets or have a wife who wouldn’t mind selling the house to save her cats, I’d highly recommend pet insurance. They’re not really for regular doctor’s visits, but for unforeseen major events... we’ve had 5 cats this far, so far 3 of them suffered some sort of events that required thousands of $ in med bills and the 2 that ‘wasted’ their insurance premiums by never having any ‘major events’ are still young... of course, I would not mind them never ever need to use their insurance...

FaultyMario

January 26th, 2021, 06:30 AM

internet has informed me that Amazon.com has gone full fascist with its new logo.

Because of the cute lil' hitler moustache.

drew

January 26th, 2021, 07:41 AM

Why does it have to be Hitler? Why can't it be Chaplan? Fuck the internet.

Cam

January 26th, 2021, 08:12 AM

If it could be easily mistaken for something else, it is a poor design.

drew

January 26th, 2021, 09:20 AM

:lol:

Kchrpm

January 26th, 2021, 12:47 PM

I confirmed that I graduated from college today :up:

Other things are moving for completion in February which should lead to bigger things in March and/or April. Fingers crossed.

drew

January 26th, 2021, 02:23 PM

:up:

Crazed_Insanity

January 26th, 2021, 03:06 PM

FY2021!!! :up:

FaultyMario

January 26th, 2021, 03:16 PM

yeah, baby!

Yw-slayer

January 26th, 2021, 03:49 PM

Get wasted

George

January 26th, 2021, 03:59 PM

I confirmed that I graduated from college today :up:

Outstanding! Congratulations. :up:

https://cdn130.picsart.com/236540941103202.gif?to=min&r=640

Cam

January 26th, 2021, 05:18 PM

Great news, Kch! Congrats.

CudaMan

January 26th, 2021, 06:04 PM

Awesome! Congrats Keith!

Tom Servo

January 26th, 2021, 06:38 PM

Congrats, Keith!

Phil_SS

January 27th, 2021, 04:14 AM

I confirmed that I graduated from college today :up:

That is seriously awesome news! Congrats Keith!

What is your degree?

Kchrpm

January 27th, 2021, 07:16 AM

Information Systems Management. Or Management of Information Systems. I forget :D

Rare White Ape

January 27th, 2021, 08:47 AM

Just pick the one that offers the coolest acronym.

FaultyMario

January 27th, 2021, 11:04 AM

Just pick the one that offers the coolest acronym.

Seconded!

Dicknose

January 28th, 2021, 04:52 PM

ISM...
much cooler than MoIS

Well done!
What does this mean for career?

Cam

January 28th, 2021, 06:37 PM

Management of Information Systems Technology; MoIST. :P

neanderthal

January 28th, 2021, 07:07 PM

I confirmed that I graduated from college today :up:

Other things are moving for completion in February which should lead to bigger things in March and/or April. Fingers crossed.

Dude!!! Congrats.

neanderthal

January 28th, 2021, 07:08 PM

I watched a lot of people make money buying Game Stock shares.

balki

January 28th, 2021, 07:45 PM

Management of Information Systems Technology; MoIST. :P
his spreadsheets make me moist

Congrats Keith!

Kchrpm

January 29th, 2021, 01:50 AM

What does this mean for career?

Probably nothing! I enrolled a month before I started working as a contractor for my current company, who hired me on direct last year. The degree is basically a piece of paper saying that I know how to do what I've already been doing for them for 3 years.

FaultyMario

January 29th, 2021, 07:41 AM

Underestimate the power of paper you must not, young padawan!

Tom Servo

January 29th, 2021, 10:14 AM

Probably nothing! I enrolled a month before I started working as a contractor for my current company, who hired me on direct last year. The degree is basically a piece of paper saying that I know how to do what I've already been doing for them for 3 years.

My dad worked in aerospace when I was a kid. There were guys working at companies like General Dynamics and Lockheed who were hired out of high school in the 60s, then finding themselves laid off 30 or so years later. They had a hell of a time finding new jobs because despite 30 years experience in the field, they didn't have degrees. Only reason I got that stupid piece of paper is when the bottom falls out of the software engineering industry, I don't want to find myself in that same spot.

Crazed_Insanity

January 29th, 2021, 10:58 AM

Yeah, that piece of paper is kinda worthless and priceless at the same time.

Just don't get it too moist, you might ruin it! :p

JoshInKC

January 29th, 2021, 06:09 PM

My dad worked in aerospace when I was a kid. There were guys working at companies like General Dynamics and Lockheed who were hired out of high school in the 60s, then finding themselves laid off 30 or so years later. They had a hell of a time finding new jobs because despite 30 years experience in the field, they didn't have degrees. Only reason I got that stupid piece of paper is when the bottom falls out of the software engineering industry, I don't want to find myself in that same spot.

My grandfather narrowly escaped something like that - He left school at 14 (to mine coal and support his mother and 3 sisters - it was a west virginia company town in the 30s) enlisted in the navy in 1940 and ended up heading the machine room on on a battleship by the time he left the service in 48. After that he ended up in mechanical engineering jobs, eventually becoming the head of engineering at a company which made offset printing presses with a huge pile of patents to his name by his retirement in 1990. A year later, the owner sold the company to somebody else and a swath of new management came in and started laying off everybody without one of those pieces of paper, calling them unqualified. So actually having the skills is real important, but having a piece of paper that says you have some of those skills is important backup.

Kchrpm

January 29th, 2021, 09:09 PM

Oh I know it's important while looking for a job, that's why I got it in the first place, but it doesn't much matter at my current job.

Ashie

February 5th, 2021, 07:16 PM

Congratulations Keith!

sandydandy

February 5th, 2021, 07:49 PM

I confirmed that I graduated from college today :up: Congrats!

Kchrpm

February 6th, 2021, 05:47 AM

What was more important at my job, probably, was the presentation I gave to a big group that was recorded and will be posted for anyone in the company that wants to learn about the topic in the future. It went really well, after some very nervous coaching from my bosses, who had received some very detailed comments from their bosses on a previous presentation I gave.

And thanks for all the congrats :up:

21Kid

February 14th, 2021, 03:14 PM

Nice work!
Those types of presentations are nerve racking! But, they get easier each time. :)

FaultyMario

February 24th, 2021, 09:57 AM

Was Tiger Woods driving under the influence or just under the supposition that he is a better driver than he actually is?

JSGeneral

February 24th, 2021, 10:26 AM

Was Tiger Woods driving under the influence or just under the supposition that he is a better driver than he actually is?

He can out-drive you, even with a mangled leg. Am I talking about golf, or autosports? Yes.

In all seriousness though, I'm actually wondering if this wasn't something sadder... like a cry for help similar to Junior Seau.

Crazed_Insanity

February 24th, 2021, 10:49 AM

You mean like a suicide attempt?

Anyway, I feel really bad for these child prodigies... Tiger has done reasonably well and a pretty long career for golfer, right? Sorry don’t follow golf that much...

Anyway, I think Hamilton has more of his act together? Hope he won’t follow Tiger’s foot steps after he retires...

Tom Servo

February 24th, 2021, 10:53 AM

Didn't he have a previous thing where the medication he was using post-surgery caused him to fall asleep at the wheel? From what I gather he's recovering from another back surgery, I wonder if there's a connection.

Admittedly, my initial thought is that he was driving like a dickhead and got bitten the way most people do in Palos Verdes. It's not exactly unheard of in PV, and that spot in particular is notorious for it. It's a wide road that's built like a freeway but has some nasty curves along with significant elevation changes, there've been a lot of nasty wrecks there over the years. The lack of any sort of skid marks and no sign that he attempted to slow down makes me think otherwise, though.

neanderthal

February 24th, 2021, 11:22 AM

As soon as I heard about it I thought it had something to do with being distracted; phone, short skirt, "oh my god look at that view," etc.

FaultyMario

February 24th, 2021, 11:35 AM

Am I talking about golf, or autosports?

Dude, It was some Kia Crossover.

I'm siding with Mo on this one, maybe he got distracted and maybe (because of the hour) he got overconfident because it was his daily drive.

George

February 24th, 2021, 01:37 PM

I assumed it was a sports car, like James Dean and Paul Walker and lots of others.

Tom Servo

February 24th, 2021, 02:19 PM

Genesis GV80. I think Genesis is to Hyundai what Lexus is to Toyota.

Rare White Ape

February 24th, 2021, 05:31 PM

^ Correct.

And I read yesterday there was no sign of drugs or alcohol in his system, so probably just driving like a dick, or distracted, or tired.

Kchrpm

February 27th, 2021, 06:57 AM

If only he'd still been in a Buick.

(He was sponsored by Buick at some point, right?)

JoshInKC

February 27th, 2021, 08:42 AM

That definitely rings a bell. I remember seeing a commercial and thinking "Oh yeah, that makes sense - selling buicks to golfers."

Crazed_Insanity

February 27th, 2021, 09:40 AM

I thought that Genesis is a pretty safe vehicle with so many airbags, but apparently it hasn’t been crash tested yet! Most of those Korean vehicle usually test out well.

I think the crash test is about to happen soon so we’ll find out if it’s better than Buick’s soon enough.

My take is that Tiger is lucky to be alive!

neanderthal

February 28th, 2021, 05:11 PM

That definitely rings a bell. I remember seeing a commercial and thinking "Oh yeah, that makes sense - selling buicks to golfers."

He was peddling Buicks in the late 90s/ early aughts when no one wanted them. Except grampa. That deal didn't work out for anyone.

Rare White Ape

February 28th, 2021, 06:07 PM

Just reading the name 'Buick' makes me think of a complete lack of passion for motoring.

JoshInKC

February 28th, 2021, 06:33 PM

They had a handful of good cars through the years, but certainly more misses than hits - In the US at least, internationally ymmv.

Tom Servo

February 28th, 2021, 06:39 PM

My uncle would say "Buick" when pretending he was vomiting.

Rare White Ape

March 2nd, 2021, 02:42 PM

Ironical:

Presenting to the hospital because you have a procedure booked, but you have a respiratory infection that you suspect has morphed into tonsillitis.

"Sorry Sir, not today, as we are reluctant to put you under GA while you're in this condition."

I mean, in a perfect world, they could rip out my tonsils at one end while another team manipulates my busted knee at the other end and kill one bird with two stones.

That's OK, as my new sim rig is arriving today :D

Cam

March 2nd, 2021, 05:55 PM

Can't catch a break!

Rare White Ape

March 3rd, 2021, 12:06 AM

Too sick to go to hospital. Think about that!

But I got my racing seat built and I've been driving again. Took me all afternoon to get it set up, being as I am with one good leg and zero fitness from not being active for 4 months. I'm rusty at the wheel, but it feels good man.

Fogelhund

March 3rd, 2021, 07:26 AM

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/us/imperial-california-crash/index.html

An SUV packed with people pulled out in front of a semitruck towing two trailers in a rural California county near the Mexican border on Tuesday morning, leaving at least a dozen dead and others hospitalized, officials said.

Overhead video in Imperial County showed the brutal aftermath of the crash, with the jack-knifed semitruck smashed into the left side of a Ford Expedition. Both came to a rest off the side of a rural road about 10 miles north of the border.
Hospital and police officials gave slightly different tallies of the injured and dead in the incident.
California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Omar Watson said at a morning briefing there were 25 occupants in the Expedition during the crash and that 13 died, including the driver

Crazed_Insanity

March 3rd, 2021, 07:55 AM

Ford Expedition has a payload capacity of around 1,800 lbs. Assuming all 25 occupants are children at 100 lbs each... we're talking about at least 2500 lbs! Each axle rating or each tire rating may be higher than 1800 lbs, but I kinda doubt they could hold that much weight for too long.

The SUV likely lost control in front of that semi truck. Based on that photo, the irresponsible driver is likely one of the dead.

Hope the survivors learned their lessons to not try that stunt again... don't know what else to say... :(

JoshInKC

March 3rd, 2021, 08:08 AM

I'd guess it wasn't so much of a "Stunt" in the screwing around sense.
We're probably getting into harvest season for a lot of stuff down there so it was likely either coyotes moving undocumented workers across the border or farm management transporting labor to/or between worksites.
Therefore it was likely a bunch of poor people told to "get in" so they could earn a marginal living.

Crazed_Insanity

March 3rd, 2021, 08:15 AM

Yeah, didn't mean they were screwing around. Just saying hope the survivors learn to say 'no' to 'get in'. Better to have no work and starve for one day than getting killed that day...

Of course this could also be human trafficking so they probably had no choice or just didn't know what the hell was going on... :(

Tom Servo

March 3rd, 2021, 08:52 AM

This definitely sounds a lot like undocumented farm workers being transported to worksites.

Rare White Ape

March 3rd, 2021, 12:24 PM

Has many of the hallmarks of a house fire which I think was in Sydney a few years ago. The dwelling was over-filled with immigrants who were being exploited for cheap labour. Over a dozen people died.

I lay the blame squarely on shitty immigration policy. It could have been prevented if they were given more protections and support, instead of letting them go on and be exploited in a strange country in a strange language.

Tom Servo

March 4th, 2021, 08:00 AM

LA Times are reporting that one of the usual hallmarks of laborers going to a worksite, lunchboxes, were nowhere to be found among the wreckage, and that there was a new big-enough-to-drive-an-Expedition-through hole in a nearby border fence, so this sounds like people being smuggled across the border.

I was thinking that anybody doing that would avoid the kinds of roads that would also see gravel truck traffic, but shows how much I know about the subject.

Dicknose

March 4th, 2021, 01:38 PM

But I got my racing seat built and I've been driving again.
Was just thinking about moving my seat from Sydney to Jindy - as that is seeming more and more like my long term residence (a year in 2 weeks)

FaultyMario

March 17th, 2021, 05:47 AM

Sabine Schmitz (1969-2021) has left this mortal coil. May she rest in power.

oh, and... fuck cancer!

Rare White Ape

March 17th, 2021, 05:53 AM

Sadface

She was such a great person.

FaultyMario

March 17th, 2021, 09:56 AM

The grassy runoff to Suzuka's esses burned a few hours ago.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ewp3Gk8UYAE07M4.jpg

Crazed_Insanity

March 17th, 2021, 12:36 PM

What...?

FaultyMario

March 17th, 2021, 03:09 PM

She was such a great person.

How-sabine-schmitz-changed-the-automotive-world (https://www.thedrive.com/news/39836/how-sabine-schmitz-changed-the-automotive-world)

XHawkeye

March 17th, 2021, 03:16 PM

Sabine Schmitz (1969-2021) has left this mortal coil. May she rest in power.

oh, and... fuck cancer!

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-DVj5LBC/0/X2/i-DVj5LBC-X2.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-CQ248ZR/0/X2/i-CQ248ZR-X2.jpg

10/3/2007: Didn't get to ride the Ring Taxi but did get her picture.

Yw-slayer

March 17th, 2021, 04:17 PM

I doubt that many people who have actually seen a close family member waste away and die due to cancer would say "fuck cancer". The process is really far too drawn out and painful for such a flippant phrase, even if the general sentiment is understandable.

Rare White Ape

March 17th, 2021, 05:59 PM

It's widely used by my circle of friends, and many of them have been through exactly that.

Only a handful of them are surviving, however.

Tom Servo

March 17th, 2021, 06:57 PM

Yeah, it's a pretty common phrase over here for people who have lost a loved one to cancer. Definitely not meant to be flippant or disrespectful.

Yw-slayer

March 17th, 2021, 11:24 PM

It sounds pretty flippant and disrespectful to me, particularly as the phrase smacks of something someone would say on a Youtube channel and/or a comedy show. None of the people who are close to me who had or have it (including those who are closer to me in age) have ever said something like it. They just got on with fighting it and/or tried to get the most of what time they had left. But hey, that's my point of view and, I think most likely, that of the circles around me. No doubt yours take a different view of the matter.

Kchrpm

March 18th, 2021, 02:46 AM

If you had told 18 year old me that I would graduate college and get my first Corvette in the same year, he would have been ecstatic. Just don't mention the "in 21 years" part...

dodint

March 18th, 2021, 04:45 AM

Yw, take a knee on this one, bud.

Yw-slayer

March 18th, 2021, 06:20 AM

Understood. I guess everyone expresses themselves in different ways. As long as the underlying sentiment is the right one.

Crazed_Insanity

March 18th, 2021, 07:13 AM

I think posting 'fuck it' in a 'fuck yeah' thread may have cause a bit of confusion for YW.

'Fuck yeah' is essentially yeah, just a very emotional positive yeah.

'Fuck it', whatever 'it' might be, could be cancer, is essentially just FUCK! A very painful emotional FUCK!!! Whether if you just kicked something hard with your toe or hammered your finger or got betrayed by loved one or painfully going thru cancer, this is just uttered automatically as a pain blocker.

Personally I'd have no issues fucking cancer and CCP. Similarly, YW probably should also have no issues fucking cancer and Billi.

If you had told 18 year old me that I would graduate college and get my first Corvette in the same year, he would have been ecstatic. Just don't mention the "in 21 years" part...

Now, this is a FUCK YEAH!

Pics please!

Kchrpm

March 18th, 2021, 07:50 AM

http://gtxforums.net/showthread.php?2065-2017-Corvette-Grand-Sport

Crazed_Insanity

March 18th, 2021, 09:37 AM

:o Need to hang out in the garage more often!

Anyways, better late than never fuck yeah for me! :p

Rare White Ape

March 18th, 2021, 04:39 PM

As long as the underlying sentiment is the right one.

Trust me, it is. Cancer is the enemy here, and it is very common for gallows humour to be a coping mechanism, such that it may even be encouraged in certain situations. Saying 'Fuck cancer,' isn't across the line of gallows humour, though it does allow groups of people to rally together in times of grief.

You could also say 'Fuck COVID,' and it won't be disrespectful to the deceased, and arguably more of us are simultaneously suffering from that than cancer at this point in varying degrees.

Crazed_Insanity

March 29th, 2021, 07:26 AM

Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty for the super moon tide so the ship is free at last!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/container-ship-stuck-suez-canal-040349725.html

JoshInKC

April 7th, 2021, 04:19 PM

Was Tiger Woods driving under the influence or just under the supposition that he is a better driver than he actually is?

Turns out it was the latter - Going 87 in a 45 or thereabouts (https://www.theroot.com/los-angeles-sheriff-reveals-tiger-woods-was-driving-40-1846635667), as he's famous of course no charges were filed.

Crazed_Insanity

April 7th, 2021, 05:02 PM

One must be under some sort of influence speeding that much... perhaps he was trying to kill himself for whatever reasons...

Tom Servo

April 7th, 2021, 07:55 PM

It's not at all unheard of of people driving that fast on surface streets near me. I wouldn't be shocked if it was intentional and not "under the influence", though I see the LASD are trying to explain it away by saying he mixed up the gas and the brake. You'd have to mix those up for a long time to get up to 87.

Good argument to make all cars manuals though, if you think you're having unintended acceleration, just push in the clutch.

FaultyMario

April 8th, 2021, 07:10 PM

the CIA's report on astral projection had been released, in full for the first time since 1983.

it is quite up to date with science, actually.

Rare White Ape

April 12th, 2021, 03:14 PM

The owner of the unit where I rent wants to sell. We’ve told the real estate agent since we first found out around new-year that we would dearly love to stay on if an investor buys, as we are an established and ready-made group of tenants.

Meanwhile the sales team has been in the ear of the owner telling them they’ll get more for the property if they renovate: carpets, paint, the lot.

So we’ve been given notice to leave. We have to be out in two months, into a crowded and cut-throat rental market.

Fuck.

Tom Servo

April 12th, 2021, 05:18 PM

Oh man, that sucks. Hopefully you'll find something good.

neanderthal

April 12th, 2021, 05:53 PM

Rare White Ape

April 13th, 2021, 06:04 AM

Yeah it's shit. I am wasting no time and went to an inspection yesterday where 20 other people showed up, and another this morning where 40 showed up.

Yesterday's application has already been processed and knocked back, but today's looks more promising: two of my references contacted me to let me know they got a call and the online application has at least been viewed by the agent.

But... I am bummed that we have to move. I felt a bit down today about it and that will only get worse over the next few weeks. I have been here since December 2013 and have got good friends who live a few houses away. Plus two cats, one of which is currently snuggled so hard up against my elbow that it is annoying to type. THEY come first. Fuck the humans that accompany me at this point, who I've only known for a short time. The cats come first.

Crazed_Insanity

April 13th, 2021, 06:18 AM

That is really a bummer..., hope things work out for you and your cats!

Cam

April 13th, 2021, 06:42 AM

Renovictions are a big problem in my home town of Halifax right now because the market is so hot. It is an easy way for a landlord to increase rents and evict tenants who would otherwise be protected by law. When I lived there, the rent could only go up 4% a year. I do not know if that law still exists. Want to increase the rent you charge your tenants more than 4%? Just renovict, then charge whatever you want.

Crazed_Insanity

April 13th, 2021, 10:07 AM

Renovict? Hah! 1st time hearing that term... Haven't been in the rental market for a while...

Moral of the story is to try to buy a place of your own. Best defense against 'renovictions'!

I might be in the rental market soon... as a landlord! Took advantage of the low interest rate and did a cashout refi and was able to use the equity of my current home as down payment for a new home we're purchasing in Seattle area. Hoping to move to Seattle sometime this year, but transfer is not approved yet. However, we bought a place anyway just in anticipation... Which ever house we end up living in, the other one would become an investment property and the tenants will be helping us pay the mortgage.

I'm feeling like a Wall Street asshole... leveraging other people's money (banks and renters) in order to make more money for myself...

Hope things work out... Real estate bubble is scary, but as long as I don't lose my job for too long, we should be okay...

George

April 13th, 2021, 10:27 AM

See also gentrification.

Best wishes to RWA in what sounds like a really sh!tty situation.

neanderthal

April 13th, 2021, 01:28 PM

See also gentrification.

Best wishes to RWA in what sounds like a really sh!tty situation.

Sigh.

I'm trying to move out of my sisters house and buy my own. The north Texas market is hot. As in a house (in a new development) I was looking at less than 6 months ago has gone up 20% in that time.

Rare White Ape

April 13th, 2021, 01:53 PM

House prices in Australia are growing faster right now than they have in the last 30 years.

The owners of my unit want out because they’re old and the husband has had medical problems. I think they just want to cash out and enjoy retirement.

Good time for them to sell, bad time for people like me with the rental situation, and a single income that more than likely wouldn’t be able to get credit to buy a place.

I could team up with my brothers (who live together) and invest but one of them is a perpetually unemployed deadshit and we’d be carrying his arse yet again.

Crazed_Insanity

April 13th, 2021, 02:05 PM

Just don't put his name on the title and you guys could choose to let him stay as long as he's on good behavior... or you could kick him out if he's too much trouble.

Just pool your resources and buy a place eventually...

Don't know about australia, but for sure it's not a good time to buy a house in the US because inventory is so low and material costs are so high now for newly constructed homes... I'm using bloated equity of my current home to buy another home with bloated price so it matters little to me as long as my future payments are manageable... Low interest rates helped.

If you could really afford it, just go for it. Who knows how long this 'bubble' will last. Could last a while. Don't be too apprehensive about the 'bubble'. Those who bought at the previous peak back in 2008 have long reemerged above water now!

If you can't afford it now, just keep on saving for a down payment and wait for the right opportunity to jump in when the bubble bursts... or whenever it becomes affordable to you.

Point is, you better not be paying rent for the rest of your life!

CudaMan

April 15th, 2021, 10:09 AM

Hope it works out well for you, RWA! I remember moving into my first apartment with 2 buddies of mine, then a year later the landlord sold to double his investment (yep, that happened) and I had to move again. The same thing happened to my sister in the same month, my buddies decided to move to a different state, so my sister and I decided we would pool our resources and get started on a place where no one could kick us out.

Somehow I bought into a neighborhood that is practically immune to housing price inflation. Which means I'm kinda stuck here now as everywhere else doubled or tripled in price (even other neighborhoods in town that are only slightly nicer than mine). My place is okay actually, just the garage is way too small. :p Been ready to upgrade that for many years, but can't unless I move to a crappy unsafe neighborhood.

If I could have bought just 2 years earlier, I would have paid less than half of what I did. But actually I probably would have been able to afford a nice 3 or 4 car garage then. In my 20s. Fuck.

Ah well, just another real estate rant. :)

Crazed_Insanity

April 15th, 2021, 10:33 AM

Yeah, learn your lessons so next time you’ll make wiser decisions!

You could still be renting and helping your landlords pay their mortgages and constantly having to worry about renovictions! :p

There will always be people making more money than me, driving better cars than me, living in a bigger house than me, their home worth or stock portfolio rose way faster than mine..., we can use them for lesson learning, but try not to let those things get to us and make us feel bad about ourselves. I try to be content with what I have. Of course once you’ve learned your lessons, seek opportunities to apply what you’ve learned and move forward!

I think life is kinda like doing racing or doing timed laps. Yeah, it’s be nice to kick other peoples ass and be on pole, but it’s also rewarding to see yourself shaving off time as you learn your lessons after every lap...

You obviously are the type who knows how to get ahead Cuda!

Cam

April 15th, 2021, 11:16 AM

Thankfully, our neighbourhood is finally on the upswing after being stagnant for at least a decade. We just refinanced to get a better interest rate and changed to a 15 year mortgage instead of 30. Yes, we are paying a bit more every month, but we'll pay less in the long run.

Rare White Ape

April 15th, 2021, 04:21 PM

The unit next door to us is for sale, and has been for months now.

*scratches chin*

No promises yet, but watch this space. The first exploratory discussions are being made which may lead to this discussion moving to the "The "Looking to become a homeowner" Thread" thread.

Crazed_Insanity

April 28th, 2021, 08:15 AM

After buying our 2nd home in Seattle area, I think I'm beginning to understand the nature of the real estate bubble..., at least for the US.

After looking at some data, during the initial pandemic, thanks to low interest rates and work from home trend, 1st time home buyers actually shot up a bit, but due to supplies being low, prices quickly to climbed. As prices climb, then the market quickly got the attentions of the 'investors' want in on this piece of action. These buyers are not like the old 2008 subprime bad credit folks. They mostly do have good credits, could even be hedge fund managers. So "fundamentals" appear to be in very good shape on paper. However, do these investment buyers all buying these expensive home with cash? Perhaps some, but certainly not all.

During our seattle home buying experience, we've discovered that they now have ways of making you look like a cash buyer. They'll buy the house for you in cash 1st and then charge you a bit of fees to convert that back to a regular loan after the escrow. If your loan falls thru, they'll probably just relist the property again and make another round of money selling the house... But anyway, this is probably not the cause of bubble. Just that I believe there are probably bunch of 'fake' cash buyers.

I believe the cause of bubble is the unlimited supplies of cheap US dollars. In reality, banks should not have unlimited supplies of money to lend to people at such low interest rates... even to people with great credits. Money should be like any other resources... able to run out eventually, right? As money is near depletion, perhaps banks could jack up the rates making it more expensive to take out loans..., but of course in our world of money, US government is making sure that we have unlimited supply of cheap money.

Investors typically borrow money to buy homes and then expect renters to pay for it... so as long as banks have access to cheap US dollars, your real estate market will likely inflate out of control similarly...

I think this is the main reason for the ridiculous housing prices, at least for the US?

Now as one of the 'investors' now, as long as I can keep my job(to pay my primary) and find renters to help pay for my mortgage(of my 2nd home), I should be fine and this 'bubble' will never burst for me. Well, even if the real estate market does go down, I'd still be okay because rent isn't likely to go down unless shit really hits the fan... considering this pandemic isn't shitty enough to hit the fan, it's kinda hard to imagine what scenarios would be shitty enough?

Anyway, the moral of the story is that if you're planning on saving up money to buy a place, buy as soon as you've saved enough money to get one. Don't wait until the market to go down because it likely never will... of course you'd be lucky to happen to buy at a dip post 2008, but even if you bought at the peak before 2008, you'd still be fine over the longterm. Housing, unlike money supply, is limited in its resources. It'd be nice to own one asap, even a small one.

I think the cheap unlimited dollar is probably also another reason why stock market is doing so well during a pandemic. Surely there are a lot of speculators borrowing money to invest in the market right now...

As the poor struggling to buy food with their puny stimulus checks, the rich is getting richer with real estate and stock market... this widening gap between the rich and poor is just going to get worse. Rather than counting on election of Bernie Sanders, we probably need to make wiser financial decisions so that we won't end up getting the short end of the sticks...

FaultyMario

September 14th, 2021, 05:57 PM

so, Norm Macdonald, eh?

Cancer might've killed Norm, but he passed comfortable knowing that OJ Simpson still killed two people.

May the earth be easy on you, entertainer.

JoshInKC

September 15th, 2021, 04:04 AM

"...Or so the Germans would have us believe!"

FaultyMario

October 23rd, 2021, 10:06 PM

Besides indulging Macdonald’s delight in tall tales of rural life, many of his biographical untruths were aimed at cultivating an unsophisticated persona. For years, he claimed to have not finished high school when in fact he graduated two years early. On Macdonald’s YouTube show, Norm Macdonald Live, guest Sarah Silverman called him out for his purposefully ungrammatical speech. “I like how you make the choice to say ‘acting good,’” she said. “You know that it’s ‘well.’ It’s a choice to be like ‘I’m going to be a regular guy and say ‘acting good.’” Macdonald looked uncomfortable and didn’t respond.

From the mouthpiece of them dirty socialists (https://jacobinmag.com/2021/10/norm-macdonald-anti-politics-anti-comedy-snl-subversion-stand-up/).