Housing Tulip Mania

* I made a mistake last night: Oreo cookies. Who can eat just one Oreo cookie? And don't we fool ourselves with the lower fat version? "Well, they're low fat, so I can eat half the package in one sitting." I know. It was total self control that I stopped half way. I like to call that "discipline."

* Is there a a real estate bubble? Check out yesterday's article in the NY Times. Registration is required, but it's free. So don't get weak knees on me. Read it!

* Greenspan made some bullish comments about the economy, so maybe that's where the credit is due for the morning turnaround. Especially after Novellus kind of nuked the semiconductors last night in the afterhours. Semiconductors were looking nice on the charts and the analysts finaly paid attention with an upgrade yesterday. Did they upgrade on the final up-tick? Maybe not, after the turnaround today. Still early, though.

* From NY Times article above: Within six months last year, Carlos and Betti Lidsky bought and sold two condominiums. Then they bought and sold two houses. They say they will clear a half-million dollars in profit, and none of the homes have even been built.

* I was mucking with my new PC last night. It's pretty frustrating trying to set up all the software the way you want. Sure, getting on the web is easy enough. But then setting up the PDA and configuring ActiveSync beyond the lame defaults. Trying to get registration codes for downloaded software installs is easy enough, but then you have the configuration issues. Oh, and maybe your new sound card isn't one of the ones supported by the software. So then off you go looking for drivers. Eesh.

* Musician Richard Marx, who wrote a few stinker ballads in his day, calls American Idol, "American Evil." (Has he ever tried listening to his own music?)

* From NY Times article above: ...rapidly rising prices are luring a growing number of ordinary people into buying and selling residences they do not intend to occupy...

* I wonder if folks buying these homes were buying Cisco stock in March, 2000? Just a thought.

* The Amazing Race kicked off a new season last night with a 2-hr show. Hillarious. I was sad to see (stop reading if you haven't watched your Tivo yet), the rednecks lose. They were funny. Classic line on the rope slide, "We're going to load test this thing." (They were heavy guys). The gay guys were funny, too.

* Greenspan is sounding the warning alarm on deficit spending, so don't think he's all so lovey-dovey up there on the Hill. He always does this, and Congress just ignores him. But lets be realistic about President Bush's No Veto policy on spending. Because we are running large deficits, and Social Security and ESPECIALLY Medicare loom out there as huge fiscal problems.

* From NY Times article above: Sometimes, homeowners borrow equity from their primary residence to finance down payments. These buyers, some of whom lost money when the stock market crashed five years ago, believe real estate is a safer bet.

* I'm going to keep mentioning that AC/DC is working on a new studio album.

* Crud. That reminds me that I have to spend a day ripping CDs onto my new box. Maybe I should call in sick to work. Reason for absense: Ripping CDs. I don't think that's a category for absense, so I'd have to check the "other" box and write it in.

* Sony Vaio. It does everything but bake blueberry muffins. (But I might get a USB device for that later. Internal or External???)

* I'm not sure who to love or hate in The Amazing Race. But I always cheer on the older couple. They seem to be more at peace with the whole competition and each other, and seem to enjoy the race more. They were pretty smooth with the llamas. I'd have walked 3/4ers a mile with the baskets. I can't get my cat to listen to me, so I'm going to let somebody else be the llama expert!

* More NY Times: Some investment buyers are willing to rent out their properties at a monthly loss, anticipating future sales price rises.

* I'm just watching for these kinds of real estate articles. They seem to be on the increase. And like the stock analysts finaly upgrading semiconductor stocks after the big move, you wonder how far behind the curve average folks are...