Soxy

QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) You would more than likely be picking up some form of a check while serving your country. One potential problem is the military doesn't want a lot of these people. That's why I included community service. Spend a year teaching in a school system that always lacks teachers. Or being a guide at a national park. Or beautifying a community. Or working at a daycare. Or a retirement home. Give people a choice as to what kind of service they would like to perform. I said nothing about everyone must join the military.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 10:46 AM) I honestly thought that was common knowledge. Maybe you are thinking of child abusers, which is a different breed of scumbag. It is common knowledge.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 10:24 AM) Can I get proof that most cases of rape are about power and control? This is a start A portion of the study details how women who are raped by intimates/people they know (the vast majority of all rapes--stranger rape is incredibly rare) are usually first emotionally and physically abused. Rapists are more likely to be controlling, jealous and dominating--and they seem to use rape as a way to assert that dominance. A similar, but far more extreme, circumstance would be to look at the cases of war rape where the victors rape the losing side's women. Or rape is used as a way to control an occupied area. Am anecdotal reference, there a lots of stories of this happening in Bosnia and currently in Africa.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 10:17 AM) Maybe in some cases rape is about power and control. But in a lot of cases, I assume it's about their sick urges. You're wrong; I'm not really interested in debating with someone who bases entire arguments on his own personal assumptions.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castration Don't try and be like a teacher and say Wiki isn't a real source. Oh honey, I'm not like a teacher. I am the teacher. Also, are they committing other crimes? Rape is about power and control, not sex so I imagine they are still criminally active.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 09:50 AM) Most studies show that sex offenders who have been castrated are much less likely to repeat their offense when they get out. Source please?

Also, I agree with the free condoms thing--but I also think that the pill or patch should be free to anyone who wants it. And the morning after pill.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 09:03 AM) How would that be possible? Especially for those who went to college? College loan paybacks begin within 6 months Wouldn't need to pay it back because it would be very heavily subsized. So, no more student loans--which essentially punish students for attempting to better themselves.

The DUI limit should be lowered to .04. Gays should be allowed to marry, adopt, serve in the military and be members of the clergy. College (pending aptitude tests and maintaining a certain GPA) should be very, very, very heavily subsidized by the government (particularly for students going into the sciences). One year of military or community service should be mandatory for all Americans. They can do it after high school or after college.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Jul 15, 2009 -> 12:34 AM) Oh, and they're needs to be levels to DUI convictions. Like, being one beer over the limit is not at all the same as being 10 beers over the limit. But, apparently it's the same according to the court system here. I had 8 beers in 6 hours tonight and drove home fine, but according to the law, I'm pretty sure I would have blown over a .08, which means I legally drove drunk tonight even though I was fine. You only think you're fine.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 10:02 AM) And now you will be very specific with the next agent about exactly what she/he will be doing to market your house. Good luck, I hope it sells quickly. Well, the other realtors I've talked to have been very specific also about what I need to do. One lady even went so far as to say, look that color mulch doesn't look good with your house. Try something else how about blah, blah, blah. Or how about if you organize your furniture your furniture this way for the photos. Let's take the pictures off the wall. All of these actual tangible ideas instead of nothing. Sure those ideas may come to nothing as well--but at least it's something.

Jimmy Carter, I heart you.

Thanks for the help. I was able to get out of the contract. This past realtor I found out after talking to another local realtor also didn't tell me about a huge major ethics violation that the broker for the realty firm I had been using got busted for last year (he ultimately had to step down). So, I wonder if that was part of the reason that other realtors weren't calling. The house next door was getting inspected yesterday, so I am hoping it will be off the market asap.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 01:39 PM) your situation sounds somewhat similar to mine from a few years ago. We had hired an agent based upon a friend's recommendation. They totally dropped the ball. Poor showing #'s, lack of timely responses, etc. At the end we just sent them a letter (and cc'd the attorney we were planning on using for closing) requesting to be let out of the agreement. We took the house off the market for 2 months (thus the # of days listed on realtor.com, etc goes back to zero) and then hired another agent who sold the property within 2-3 months. I'm always shocked by how little work some realtors tend to due. They think that responding to showing requests and listing on the "system" is all they need to do. They are order takers, not order makers. You need someone who has a network of interested parties (investors, local businesses who relocate employees, etc) to help close the sale. Don't be afraid to get creative either... offer the buyer a new flat screen TV or a trip to Hawaii. Something special to make your showing stand out from the crowd. (especially if its a townhouse) That is exactly my problem. After I sent her a long detailed e-mail she said, well it's on several websites, so I don't know what else I can do. Since no one is calling I can't do anything else. Just putting it on the internet isn't enough. And another realtor actually said she was surprised by how nice my house was because the pictures the realtor took and posted were so awful. Part of the problem is that my house is not expensive--it's listed around 59K (which is probably close to the median home price in this area). So her commission won't be huge. Or that's the only thing I can think.

It was different agents (seller and buyer agents) when I bought it. But I bought with the person I am currently listing with. The problem is that she isn't showing it--and talking to other realtors there were some problems with the way she has handled this from the start. So she gives me the contract, tells me I need to sign it BEFORE we settle on a price and after I sign it we set up a price AND she tells me that she has another full time job as a paralegal (again after I sign the contract). We haven't had any open houses because I still am living in the house. I understand that this is a slow time, but other houses seem to be shown frequently and I will go weeks (the record was 25 days) without hearing from my realtor. She's awful at returning calls and e-mails. I understand this is a slow process--my dad used to build spec houses. But the fact that she isn't showing my house is a problem.

So I am selling my house (worst possible timing). I've had it listed for about three months and I have a six month contract. My realtor has not shown the house in over a month (the house next door is also for sale and has been showing about 3 times a week our houses are very similar in price and size). She says the reason that she hasn't shown the house is because other realtor's aren't calling her. She says that the listing is online, but that no one is contacting her. She did have one potential showing last week because there were people viewing the house next door--but that didn't happen because of short notice. Also, of the 7 or so showings I have had she has only done 1 showing. All of the others have been from other realtors. My question is this: Can I get out of the contract? I've aired my frustrations with her about how little my house is showing and she knows that I need to sell it as quickly as possible. I'm concerned that her main thoughts on showing my house is that other people need to call her. So if there are any realtors or lawyers on board I'd love some input.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 11:41 AM) <!--quoteo(post=1943451:date=Jul 9, 2009 -> 10:16 PM:name=BearSox)-->QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 9, 2009 -> 10:16 PM) <!--quotec-->Barack Obama likes big butts and he cannot lie: I loved how Sarkozy KEEPS staring through the whole clip. Dirty frenchard.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 12:04 PM) (Liberals) do, but that doesn't make them "stupid", IMO, it makes them uninformed, perhaps lazy, depending on the individual. But that's not what Tex was talking about. (Note: ETA - most of the "liberals" around here are informed and understand their decisions. As a whole, I don't think many do. Just throwing that out there). So, what you're saying is that soxtalk is home to a disproportionate amount of smart educated liberals. But in general, most liberals are uninformed/ignorant. So, if you gave a civics test to a big group and asked them to identify their political ideology, people who claimed to be conservative would do better. (With the exceptions of the freakishly informed liberal posters here.) So, by that theory, most of the people who have been CEOs of banks and companies that have gone under have been liberal. Or that must unsuccessful governments are headed by liberals--so liberal governments are likely to be less stable.That would be an interesting study.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 11:18 AM) When talking about her intelligence I think we need to define the particulars. In this case, intelligence to be President of the U.S. Sure she's intelligent enough to be the manager at Chili's but I haven't seen anything that defines intellectual excellence, a trait most of us would agree should be required for our leader. She's not eloquent, she wasn't a great student, and she shows very little knowledge of basic facts about how our government works. I will set the department of law on your for such libel!

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 9, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) The Kindle is now priced at $299. I might be game after a 2nd price cut. I want one of those so badly. But alas, it's still out of my price range. Covet, covet, covet. Oh, how I want one.

Delightful

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 8, 2009 -> 09:33 AM) Yep, remember those well too. Of course, I remember those damn mainframes and punch cards at my dad's work. But what happened if the dinosaurs ate the punch cards or stepped on the main frame?

Paul and Sheila Wellstone hit me really hard. It was just so unexpected. So sad that two people who had done so much for their state and country to die so suddenly. Paul McCartney will be rough. And Elton John. Hillary Clinton too.

Pay off my debts (and my parents), buy my sister a nice house near her job. Donate a crapload to my alma mater (start a scholarship fund and maybe part of a building fund). I would keep teaching, I think. But I would travel, travel, travel. And buy a really nice sewing machine. And maybe open an animal sanctuary.

A lady at work today was trying to swipe her credit card through the machine, but she was sliding it so that the embossed numbers were going through the card reader. She starts getting up set that it isn't taking her card and my machine must be broken. So I calmly (and as nicely as possible) tell her that she needs to flip the card so that the magnetic strip runs through the sensor. The woman looks at me as if I am stupid and says (in the most condescending rude voice) "Then how would it read the numbers?" Honest to pete, I didn't know if I should laugh or yell at her.