cryptique

Speaking of knowing the "real McCain"...

I wish I'd followed this advice. I liked our inspector, but after some unexpected and expensive repairs in recent years, I wonder if he was inclined to rubber-stamp things to facilitate a sale. It's not like we got screwed, but I think a more independent inspector might have told us a few things that this guy didn't.

But if you lose, nothing changes. Better to win by fighting fire with fire than to lose and watch the fire consume everything.

I don't disagree with you, really. But I also will say, quite adamantly, that Obama cannot win this election without hitting back at McCain. It's a disgusting state of affairs, but I'd be more upset with him if he just laid down and took it and lost the election in the process.

Yeah, having a substantial downpayment is nice if you can swing it. We put 25% down on our house, which (among other things) meant we didn't have to buy mortgage insurance. I think 20% is the typical threshold for this.

One highly specific piece of advice: If the houses you're looking at are a bit older, find out whether the pipe that connects to the sewer might be made of something called Orangeburg. I don't know if that's an issue in New Jersey, but it sure is in my neighborhood here in Michigan. Orangeburg breaks down after only a few decades and needs to be replace with a sturdier material. It's an operation that can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000, or even more, depending on the distance between your house and the street and various other factors. You can sometimes tell if there's Orangeburg i

Sure, keep telling yourself that. I guess I watch more TV than you do.

I agree with you in principle, but sadly, that's the way elections are run over here. This ad barely even begins to balance the negative ads that McCain has run against Obama. Obama wanted to run a positive campaign, but when you're being relentlessly attacked by the other campaign the way he has, you eventually have to respond in kind or you're going to get your ass handed to you at the ballot box.

You need to get laid or something.

In my not-particularly-expert opinion, hybrids aren't all that they're cracked up to be. If you look at the mileage numbers, they're really not all that better than what you'd get from a regular fuel-efficient car. If you're thinking of buying a Prius, you're obviously not looking for something all that roomy, so look at other small cars too and compare their fuel efficiency. To repeat, however: this is my not-particularly-expert opinion. I'm waiting for something powered by electricity (solely) or compressed air or some other thing. There's a very interesting article in the September is

Depends on the lyrics.

So, liberals never complain about taxes? Hmmm. The Beatles were being taxed at a rate of about 95%. I don't care what your politics are, that's something you're going to complain about, no matter how much you make. Benkof's quoting selected lyrics that he can twist into supporting his worldview, not unlike what many people do with the Bible.

Gotcha. I don't usually read paragraphs as long as that one on this board, so I missed the earlier reference.

It has nothing to do with being a Wilco "fanboy." I merely don't like a band that everyone else seems to like, so it's reasonable to predict that I will enjoy the next album by a band I do like much more than any album by the other band.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that I'll enjoy the next Wilco album ten times more than any My Morning Jacket album.

Certainly the best ad I've seen so far.

Biden, according to, well, everyone. I love it when Drudge gets stuff so spectacularly wrong.

Dear god, please not Bayh. I like Biden, but he has trouble keeping his foot out of his mouth.

Why "fear"? If you don't like the new stuff, don't listen to it. End of discussion. Wilco isn't going to tailor their music to your tastes.

I've been switching the channel every time that ad comes on. And also looking for another place to buy my clothes (yes, I shopped there).

Happy belated ... hope it was a good one.

So ... I have something called Gift of Screws that I downloaded two years ago, and I believe it was portrayed as the Great Unreleased Lindsey Buckingham Album. Is this soon-to-be-released album all new material? The version I have seems to share only one track in common with the one discussed here -- the title track. Here's the tracklist for the thing I have: 1. Someone

Someday women will no longer pierce their navels. And there will be much rejoicing.

Not as hot as that pole vaulter who we're not supposed to talk about, imo. (She's not at the Olympics.)