- Weird site with 911 calls from USA http://www.911callers.com/ Some great e.g. Taco Problem and Burger King, others are utterly frightening #
- Charlie Boorman, “Ireland to Sydney by any means”. Why do it? why film it? Why am I watching it? In fact just why? #
- Over on BBC2 Obama has a banner saying ‘Change is Needed’. Bit of an understatement. He should change it to ‘$700 Billion is needed’ #
- BBC3 ‘Massive’. Nearly very good. Another BritCom that could be brilliant but somehow isn’t. #
- In answer to the ‘What are you doing?’ question at the top of the Twitter text box… watching late night TV - in case you hadn’t guessed. #
- Dear Politicians, Suggest another plan. The one where we pour money into a bottomless pit seems to be a bit ineffective. #
- There’s another daveyates hanging about on Identica. I am getting confusing messages aimed at him. Oh, the possibilities this presents. #
- A glass of Chianti & a plate of sun dried tomatoes on mozzarella seasoned with black pepper, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Oh yes!! #
In the beginning there was the word and the word was 120% mortgages for people who can’t afford to repay them.
And the bank saw that it was good because they could charge high interest rates. And other banks saw that it was good and they all traded with each other to get a bit of the high interest action.
Then the banks said unto the mortgage holders you may pay off the interest, but must not pay off the forbidden capital. They said this to people like Adam and Eve, who had a 120% mortgage on a semi-detached which they named Eden. The mortgage was at a high rate because Adam was self employed and Eve had a bit of a credit card problem.
And lo, on the seventh day which came several times every day, the banks paid themselves massive bonuses and drove Ferrari cars to Heaven and other night clubs.
Then one day, having been to the estate agents to think about moving, Adam and Eve were walking in the garden of Eden and thought “our house is worth less than we paid for it”.
“Have an apple”, said Eve to Adam, because it helps to stretch the metaphor further. And he ate of the fruit while he thought about his company which had gone out of business.
They could not pay their mortgage. The banks cast them out from Eden, leaving them only with fig leaves to dress themselves in. The banks repossessed the house but could not sell it for anywhere near enough to cover the outstanding loan. Then the banks found out that this was happening all over the world and what used to pass as a financial system was now going to hell in a Ferrari with a bonus stuffed in its pocket.
And thereafter the people wandered, miserable and broke, while the bankers that emptied Eden don’t have mortgages themselves; they live in comparative paradise with their bonuses having paid off their own, subsidised home loans.
- 6am: Two very awake children being too loud. Managed to get driving school site out late last night. The two things are not compatible #
- General status 1. Stoke City not doing too well in the big league #
- General status 2. Credit crunch is crunching, will anyone get canned for this or is that just me needing someone to direct my anger at. #
- General status 3. Could be back in (once flooded out) house. Maybe 8 weeks (Insurance co. estimate) and March 2009 (my own estimate). #
- General status 4. The flood refuge is a permanent mess. I give up trying to clear it up. I need to learn to ignore it. #
- 2007-2008: Got sick, got flooded, wasp infested house, boil on my neck. If anyone sees Moses in Worcestershire please tell him to f*** off. #
- http://twitpic.com/dmsg the flood refuge - nice view #
- mornin rich. again #
Having been completely busted by my friend Richard Turner over the blog entry to do with my wife, I have decided to make a space to report on Thursday evening pub philosophy.
Keep a eye on mini brain dumps - I will probably report in from the iPhone which end up as mini brain dumps.
- Down at the pub. Richard reminded me to remove the wife article. And now he is taking the piss out of my blog #
- iPhone tip for the top is beatmaker music sequencer. Not a free app, but it is - worth a few hundred quid at least #