Digital Wilderness

Great post by Seth Godin – How to buy a house:

How to buy a house

Actually, how to think about buying a house.

You don’t see a lot of ads trying to sell you on spending too much money on a house. It’s more subtle than that. The marketing is all around us, and has been for years. The enormous social pressure and the expectations that come with it lead to misunderstandings and confusion. Here’s my advice to someone in the market:

1. In an era where house prices rise reliably (which was 1963 to 2007), it was almost impossible to overpay for a house. It was an efficient market, and rising prices cover many mistakes. Investing in houses in the USA was a no-brainer. More leverage and more at stake just paid off more in the end. This consistent, multi-generational rise taught us more than an ad every could: buy a lot of house with as little downpayment as you could.
2. A house is not just an investment, it’s a place to live. This is the only significant financial investment that has two functions. Things like cars and boats always go down in value, so most of the time, if you’re investing, you’re doing it in something that you don’t have to fix, water, fuel or live in. You shouldn’t fall in love with a bond or a stock or a piece of gold, because if you do, you won’t be a smart investor. The problem (as people who sell and fix and build houses understand) is that you just might fall in love with a house. What a dumb reason to make the largest financial investment of your life.
3. The psychology of down markets is irrational. Rising house prices might be efficient (many bidders for a single item lead to higher prices), but when there aren’t so many bidders, irrational sellers (see #2) don’t lower their prices accordingly. So, inventories get longer and it’s easy for the prospective buyer to think that a certain price is the ‘right’ price because so many people are offering houses at that price. Just because someone offers a price, though, doesn’t mean it’s fair in a given market.
4. Along the same lines, anchoring has a huge impact on housing prices. If someone offers a house for $800,000 and you think it’s worth half that, you don’t offer half that. No, of course not. The price is a mental and emotional anchor, and you’re likely to offer far more.
5. The social power of a house is huge. When you buy a big house or an expensive house, you are making a statement to your in-laws, your family, your neighbors and yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but the question you must ask yourself is, “how big a statement can I afford?” How much are you willing to spend on personal marketing and temporary self-esteem?
6. Debt is an evil plot to keep you poor. If buying a bigger house (or even a house with a living room or a garage) is going to keep you in credit card debt, you’ve made a huge financial error, one that could cost you millions.
7. By the time you buy a house, you probably have a family. Which means that this is a joint decision, a group decision, a decision made under stress by at least two people, probably people that don’t have a lot of practice talking rationally about significant financial decisions that also have emotional and social underpinnings. Ooph. You’ve been warned. Perhaps you could add some artificial rigor to the conversation so that it doesn’t become a referendum on your marriage or careers and is instead about the house.
8. If you have a steady job, matching your mortgage to your income isn’t dumb. But if you are a freelancer, an entrepreneur or a big thinker, a mortgage can wipe you out. That’s because the pressure to make your monthly nut is so big you won’t take the risks and do the important work you need to do to actually get ahead. When you have a choice between creating a sure-thing average piece of work or a riskier breakthrough, the mortgage might be just enough to persuade you to hold back.
9. Real estate brokers, by law, work for the seller (unless otherwise noted). And yet buyers often try to please the broker. You’ll never see her again, don’t worry about it.
10. You’re probably not going to be able to flip your house in nine months for a big profit. Maybe not even nine years. So revisit #2 and imagine that there is no financial investment, just a house you love. And spend accordingly.

I’m optimistic about the power of a house to change your finances, to provide a foundation for a family and our communities. I’m just not sure you should buy more house than you can afford merely because houses have such good marketing.

These were read on CarTalk, good for a chuckle, so I thought I’d pass them along.

These are from a book called “Disorder in the Court.” These are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place. Some of these are excellent — don’t miss the last one.

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: This myasthenia gravis — does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you’ve forgotten?

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or 35, I can’t remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Now, doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?

Q: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
Q: Were you present at the time your picture was taken?

Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?

Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male or a female?

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I always dress when I go to work.

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him.

Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then, it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

Geek & Poke brings us One Day In The Life Of A Coder

While doing some spring cleaning, I came across a box that I had forgotten about. In this box were many items from my school days – elementary school through college. Among these items was a folder of writings from my middle and high school portfolio days. I had though these had been lost! Some papers are almost 20 years old, but still in good shape. Among the writings were a few chapters and a map for a fantasy book I was writing at the time. I was heavily influenced by J.J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Dragonlance series at the time.

I thought I’d share some of these writings. This first one is titled “A Message to the World” and was originally written on October 17, 1994 in Mrs. Walton’s sophomore English class at Ryle High School. It’s from my transcendental period.

An excerpt from Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti.

Do you find these true?

Nicknames
If Laura, Suzanne, Debra and Rose go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Suzanne, Debra and Rose. But if Mike, Charlie, Bob, and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Useless.

Eating Out
When the bill arrives, Mike, Charlie, Bob and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $22.50. None of them will have anything smaller, and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

Money
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item she doesn’t want.

Bathrooms
A man has six items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap and a towel from the Holiday Inn. The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.

Arguments
A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

Dressing Up
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book or get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

Offspring
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends and favorite food, secret fears and hopes and dreams. A mans is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

For those who have asked, here’s a short video explaining geocaching, the “high-tech treasure hunting game being played around the world by adventure seekers!”

It’s about time!

Hobbit filming to begin in New Zealand in July

Shooting of the long-awaited film version of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit is set to begin in New Zealand in July.

Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who reprises his Lord of the Rings role as Gandalf the Grey, revealed casting is taking place in LA, London and New York.

Mexican-born film-maker Guillermo del Toro will direct the film and its proposed sequel.

Here’s my bracket for the 2010 NCAA Tourney…for now at least. Still have several hours to drive myself nutty and change my mind…

Let’s go Big Blue!

Deepest sympathies and condolences go out to my sister-in-law and her family in the unexpected passing of her father this past Sunday evening. Please keep them all in your prayers during this very difficult time.

Dr. Walton “Louis” MOORE
Age 61. Born in Booneville, Mississippi and a graduate of Booneville High School, Louis went onto the University of Mississippi and received degrees from the colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. He completed his pathology residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and preventive medicine residency at the University of South Carolina where he also received a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Dr. Moore has been the medical director of several departments with the state of Tennessee for the past 20 years. Louis was a loving husband, father and son; a brilliant physician with a heart of gold; a man of character and integrity with uncompromising ethics; and a dedicated Christian who quietly lived out his faith. He will be remembered as a cherished friend, a perfect gentleman, and a true blessing to all who knew him. Preceded in death by his father, Luther Moore; his son, David Wesley Moore. Louis is survived by his wife, Mamie Little Moore; twin daughters, Elizabeth Moore Vaught and Jennifer Moore; mother, Louise Floyd Moore; siblings, Randy Moore, Terry Moore and Betty Crotty. The family will receive friends [Tuesday] from 5-7 p.m. in the parlor of Brentwood Baptist Church. Funeral services will be conducted 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at McMillan Funeral Home in Booneville, MS with visitation from 10 a.m. until time of service. Burial in Dumas Cemetery. AUSTIN FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES, (615) 377-0775

Recently, I met with my friend Nick to help him plan his road trip to the Northeast, given I traveled there last year. Of course, this just led to the travel bug biting me…

Two days later, my next trip is planned.

Needless to say, when I get bitten, the Planner/Organizer in me wastes no time taking over. Planning for a vacation this year is in sharp contrast to my trip last year, when I did very little planning. I basically had a
list of destinations/points of interest and just drove. As nice as it was to not worry about planning the trip beforehand and once on the road, not being ruled by a schedule, in the end I wasn’t able to fully enjoy most
destinations due to them either being closed when I arrived or having to rush a visit because I ran out of time and had to get on the road. I was also over budget since my nightly lodging was last minute and often lacking in choices due to the town in which I ended up. With learned lessons under my belt, I’m determined to find that healthy medium this year.

The destination this year? The southeast!

My primary destination is Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Much like last year, with Acadia National Park being the focus, another park is in my sights this year, another step closer to fulfilling by bucket list item of visiting every NP. Congaree is one of the “largest expanse of old-growth flood plain forest in America” and one of the tallest forests in the North America. I’ll spend a day hiking around the bottomland and canoeing along the river, then set up camp for the night in the park. The next day, I’ll head east to the South Carolina shore, specifically Litchfield Beach/Pawleys Island, a setting in one of my all-time favorite books, Flabbergasted. Unlike the 2hrs I spent on a chilly beach in Maine last July, I plan to spend most of a day relaxing on a much warmer beach before heading south to Charleston for the night. The following day, I’ll head further south and bum around Hilton Head for a while (never been there), before ending up in Savannah (haven’t been there either) for the evening. I’ll take in the night life of this historic town, maybe visit some local parks and historical monuments the next morning, then head out to Tybee Island for a bit (haven’t been there either) before heading back north. A scenic drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Smokey Mtns will end with a night
spent in a cabin around Gatlinburg. After spending a day enjoying hikes around the Smokies, I might swing by Nashville to visit my brother and sister-in-law before returning home. I haven’t confirmed when this trip will happen yet, but I do have a week in mind, and it feels so far off…

Here’s my tentative route:

Well, there it is! Have you been to any of these locations? Any suggestions on things to do, places I can’t miss, restaurants I should visit along this route?