The Swamp

Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2023 12:40 pm We're seeing this trying to find a place for my son near Penn. Rents are super high.

My vague understanding of this ongoing housing issue is that it's in large part due to Airbnb. You have companies buying up houses, apartments, condos, etc. in cities so they can rent them out on Airbnb. This is creating a housing shortage and driving up prices. I haven't checked, but I bet you're seeing an opposite downward pressure on hotel room prices as they have so much more competition now.

Funds are also buying individual homes (even up to building entire developments) as traditional rental properties. Why give up control of the asset when you can make the same amount of money while saving your renter the hassle of all that mortgage paperwork? Many are also eliminating the "local" rental office/landlord so when renters have problems and never get help because they get funneled into a loop without any response, they end up moving elsewhere, allowing for another, often larger, rent increase.

I see the same as dsafe often around here. Invitation Homes. Airbnb investors mostly not competing for working class homes. Has to be close to some draw for those numbers to work. But that's wall street competing with Joe blow to buy a $299k house with a huge stack of capital. Then theyre shrewd landlords renting to much much much less sophisticated tenants at 3x the capital amortization/debt service costs. No way that's good for Americans. I do think the steam has come off with the interest rate hikes but they're still in a dominant position over competing buyers and prospective tenants

Ok, so as more details have come out this makes me madder and sadder. The New Yorker article is amazing. The remaining people for the company better be extremely lawyered up given some of the other details. The fact that they sued the guy who had the integrity to use the one lever he had to push them in a safer direction is awful. I hope engineering ethics courses cover this in detail in the future.

For the people on the sub, fuck me, that had to be terrifying. Something caused them to drop the weights, so they had the moments of terror. Yes, the end was instantaneous and they wouldn’t have time to react, but their last moments were undoubtedly in terror. Such an awful thing.

Last point for me: I have a little distrust in the information coming from the other people in the submersible world. They will pile on this company to try and protect themselves and their future operating costs. This isn’t the only company taking top dollar from tourists to take them down there. If they all knew how risky the Ocean Gate operation was they should have been much more publicly loud about it before now. Lots of ‘unsent’ emails and reports apparently. Each person on that side needs a good long look in the mirror as well.

The boy passed his driving test today. Let him drive home and he ripped up my car pulling into the garage. No damage to the house, but he tore up the front panel. Looks like the house paint washed off this time, unlike when he hit the opposite side of my car the first time I let him pull into the garage. I don't like the fact that he passed the test. Totally not ready to drive yet.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Tue Jul 25, 2023 3:17 pm The boy passed his driving test today. Let him drive home and he ripped up my car pulling into the garage. No damage to the house, but he tore up the front panel. Looks like the house paint washed off this time, unlike when he hit the opposite side of my car the first time I let him pull into the garage. I don't like the fact that he passed the test. Totally not ready to drive yet.

Between two kids:

- Five blown tires
- Backed into the side of my old Highlander
- A broken side mirror from hitting the garage backing out (this was only a month ago!)
- One rear end accident which did ZERO damage to the other car, a jacked up jeep with a hitch that ruined our hood and light but I'll take that over damages the other way
- Front bumper loose because of a curb. Luckily this was before the rear end, so it all got fixed at once.


Basically, shit happens and will continue to happen no matter how ready they are.

Clicked on a random YT video for help with starting my snowblower and the dude only had one hand

Ryan wrote: ↑Mon Nov 27, 2023 9:33 pm Clicked on a random YT video for help with starting my snowblower and the dude only had one hand

He should specialize in what not to do videos.

The 76ers unveiled a statue for Allen Iverson on their Legends Walk at their practice facility.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 12:40 pm The 76ers unveiled a statue for Allen Iverson on their Legends Walk at their practice facility.

There can be absolutely no dispute on this one.

On a personal note - I walk my dog on a nearby gold course from November until course re-opening in early April. Every year I scoop up enough lost balls to keep myself and three of my golfing buddies stocked for the year. Whenever I see a Practice ball, I hear Iverson's voice.

Turning Point Action official resigns after accusation of election-related fraud

A top leader of the national conservative group Turning Point Action, which has amplified false claims of election fraud by former president Donald Trump and others, resigned Thursday after being accused of forging voter signatures on official paperwork so that he could run for reelection in the Arizona House.

I guess there’s some irony there, but that entire organization is comprised of people dumber than a pile of rocks.

Yeah a conservative group being hypocrites is practically a requirement at this point.