>>Not so silly when apparently the supposed finance savvy banking/investment/Wall St. crowd did not understand the consequences of these mortgages either...and these are supposed professionals...hedge fund managers, major commercial banks, investment banks, etcYou are comparing apples and oranges. The mortgage loans were chopped up into CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) and moved from the mortgage loan market into the equity markets as a result. This is why there is so much heat on the ratings agencies, who stamped them as less risky than they turned out to be. I've said this before and will say it again - the upheaval in the equity markets is because of the UNCERTAINTY who is bearing the risk on the CDOs. The one thing Wall St. hates is uncertainty! But in the end, the debt IS collateralized, it's merely a question of what the debt is now worth. Even assuming whole swaths of development tract homes are only worth 50% of what they were two years ago, the land they sit on still has value. Think of the homes that have just been lost in the SoCal fires - is the land now worthless? Of course it isn't! What the financial institutions are currently engaging in is a wave of write-downs so they can hopefully take advantage of a few "cookies" in future earnings quarters. Don't know what cookies are to an FI? From the WSJournal, 10/4/07: "At the same time, some investors are wondering whether banks are being so conservative with their accounting that they will quietly book profits down the road as the securities they still hold rebound in value. Fans of accounting scandals know this as filling the cookie jar. Later, the cookie jar is emptied, giving earnings a boost when needed most. When valuing securities that have all but stopped trading, clarity is relative. Some investors say they fully expect banks and brokers to take the maximum possible losses while investors are in a mood to accept them, a practice known as the "big bath" or "kitchen sink" approach. Later, the logic goes, they can mark the value of securities back up and recognize profits. "If you're a smart CEO, you're going to write off everything and then some, maybe even to below-market prices, because you're going to be hidden in the woodshed with everybody else," says Daniel Genter, chief executive and chief investment officer of RNC Genter Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based investment firm that manages about $3 billion in bonds and stocks, mostly for high-net-worth individuals. "They'll make it look a lot worse than it is, but that's the smart move, because you've got little to lose and you might get some of it back in a quarter or two." Analysts also expect banks to err on the side of taking as big a hit as possible. Only an "unwise" banker would do anything "other than take as much pain as possible," Chris Wheeler, European banks and specialty finance analyst with Bear Stearns, told investors yesterday during a conference call." (excerpted from "Banks' Candor Makes Street Suspicious - Is Spate of Write-Downs A Sign of Transparency Or 'Big Bath' Strategy?" by David Reilly and Edward Taylor, October 4, 2007; WSJournal)

Ours is a new build and we just moved in on Tuesday, minus any hot water. Fortunately, the gas lines were hooked up on Friday and we now have hot water (big sigh of relief). Those cold showers were doing us in! LOL! The kitchen boxes are almost unpacked. There are a few things that the kitchen guy needs to come back and finish - he ran out of crown moulding and needs to add it to one more cabinet, there are several missing pulls on order, the cooktop vent needs a few more fixes, and a few other things that I'm forgetting. He is due back next week sometime to finish everything up (fingers crossed). Oh, and there is a granite backsplash missing under the window behind the sink that is supposed to go in on Thursday. And we still don't have a backsplash in the beverage area above the ~5" granite backsplash...we are having trouble deciding what to put there. But it's good to be home... Patti

Hello all! A little update. Money has been tight, but I was able to save up for a coffee table. I was afraid it would be too big, but I think it looks nice. It has some storage space on both sides and I love it's look. I am curious if I should put a vase with flowers or something with a little color to put on top. Also I think a rug is in store. I also sold the recliner and it's out of my life! The apt. has been repainted by the new Landlord and that ugly hole in the wall is gone and the color is much better! They didn't put the blinds back and I'm thinking of replacing them while they are down or go with curtains. I will be putting a small bar cabinet on the right side of the TV (where that drawer is) to get my "bar" fix without using the kitchen area for it. It will fit perfectly in that unused space. (I plan on getting rid of that small drawer container. I will probably get a small dining room table or just leave the keyboard there since I have a coffee table and I know I wouldn't use the dining table except when guests come over. I was given a rug by a friend, but I feel it's too small under the coffee table, so I put it under the keyboard. I got some candles for the windowsill and I think they bring a nice touch, especially when lit. I still plan on putting a curtain to seperate the bed from the room and put a small bookcase on the left side of the TV with a mirror on the wall above it. Any comments would be appreciated. I will continue to update as more additions are very slowly added to my apt.

Can't agree with all of Samuel Johnson's quotes, but among that many a total agreement would be boring.