This week saw another blow to the beleaguered US housing market with the release of foreclosure statistics for the second quarter of 2008 (April, May, June).  In that period 739,714(1) foreclosure filings were recorded.  This is a jump of 14% over Q1 2008, and up 121% over the same period in 2007.  This means that one in 171 homes received a filing.  220,000 homes were actually repossessed by banks in that period.

There’s no question that the housing implosion is not only continuing with little sign of relief, but that it is accelerating at a nearly unimaginable rate.  It’s reached a point where congress has finally decided to step in to try and hold back the flood, to give home owners more time, and to try and prop up financial institutions as hundreds of thousands of borrowers default on their loans every month.

This, combined with out-of-control fuel prices pushing the cost of virtually everything else up, is creating a perfect economic storm that could threaten everyone, even those who are on sound financial footing at the moment.

Things are definitely looking grim.

This is inspired partially by Dr. Guy's revived thread on the 5yr old who was arrested for becoming violent and assaulting a teacher and administrator and how the parent plans to sue the school for setting her baby up. Link I was one of those children you hope you don't end up having. Until I was about 12 or 13, I was horribly violent. I could fly off the handle and go into an incoherent rage at the drop of a hat and inflict serious damage on anyone or anything around me. In presc...

Ok, here's the deal, I've recently graduated from Penn State University with a B.S in Information Sciences & Technology with a minor in IT Telecommunications. I've worked for about 8 years total doing tech support work of varying difficulty (from simple troubleshooting to overseeing two computer labs to running my department's servers and doing most minor network work) through High School and College. I can easily work with Windows, MacOS and just about any variety of Linux (some of the pure ...

Every time things in life seem to be going poorly, there's always some annoying friend who has an unnaturally up-beat attitude about life and feels the need to force it on all the poor unfortunate grumpy people around them. They'll offer helpful comments like "Well, it's not so bad, you could have " or "It'll get better sooner or later"/"Good things come to those who wait" It's like listening to a modified version of your parents when they tried to instill virtues such as patience and manner...

Once the euphoria of actually having made it through college has passed and you've received that little piece of paper certifying that you are a smart person, the reality of life begins to set in. The main question most people seem to be facing at this point is "What am I going to do with the rest of my life" and another of more immediate concern "Where am I going to find a job?" For me, I'm currently ignoring the first question as it seems too soon to try and figure something that major out a...

Well, another year has come and gone, and with it's end, a lot has changed for me. Just a few days ago I graduated from college, bringing to a close almost 17 years of schooling, and now I'm on the brink of what quite literally is the rest of my life. This is such a profound change in direction and operation that it's hard for me to really wrap my head around. It's frightening and exciting, joyous and depressing. With that in mind, there are a few things I'm hoping to see happen in 2004... ...