Planet Xdroop

xdroop: Define "bagel": a doughnut with all the fun sucked out of it.

2012-02-04T02:43:13+00:00

xdroop: Define "bagel": a doughnut with all the fun sucked out of it.

xdroop: Scarbs's guide to 2012 F1 Technical Regulations: http://t.co/eUV8CjsC

2012-02-03T19:01:02+00:00

xdroop: Scarbs's guide to 2012 F1 Technical Regulations: http://t.co/eUV8CjsC

xdroop: Nice photo of #Ferrari's F2012 with a #FF as a backdrop -- at least the #FF looks nice http://t.co/aTudvrb5

2012-02-03T18:23:19+00:00

xdroop: Nice photo of #Ferrari's F2012 with a #FF as a backdrop -- at least the #FF looks nice http://t.co/aTudvrb5

xdroop: #Ferrari's #F2012 better be fast, because it sure isn't pretty: http://t.co/51D1FgMp

2012-02-03T18:19:15+00:00

xdroop: #Ferrari's #F2012 better be fast, because it sure isn't pretty: http://t.co/51D1FgMp

xdroop: For my next trick, I will persuade three unrelated people to do something impossible. Well OK, merely very dangerous. Wish me luck!

2012-02-03T15:44:30+00:00

xdroop: For my next trick, I will persuade three unrelated people to do something impossible. Well OK, merely very dangerous. Wish me luck!

xdroop: It's only February 2nd and the #Leafs are already doing "strategic cheering"... http://t.co/gIs8gwzI

2012-02-02T20:54:28+00:00

xdroop: It's only February 2nd and the #Leafs are already doing "strategic cheering"... http://t.co/gIs8gwzI

xdroop: McLaren MP4/27 launch: http://t.co/25jjBPV4

2012-02-02T19:19:42+00:00

xdroop: McLaren MP4/27 launch: http://t.co/25jjBPV4

xdroop: I'm finally to the point where I can get more done, faster, with the #JunOS CLI than I can with JWeb.

2012-02-02T16:04:54+00:00

xdroop: I'm finally to the point where I can get more done, faster, with the #JunOS CLI than I can with JWeb.

xdroop: RT @InsideFerrari: New Ferrari launch cancelled because of snow http://t.co/sPSIZtWn

2012-02-02T12:16:42+00:00

xdroop: RT @InsideFerrari: New Ferrari launch cancelled because of snow http://t.co/sPSIZtWn

xdroop: Just wasted an hour when the answer was "duh, it's #Solaris. It came broken that way."

2012-02-01T20:11:29+00:00

xdroop: Just wasted an hour when the answer was "duh, it's #Solaris. It came broken that way."

xdroop: Google is on crack: http://t.co/vgfsOlEG

2012-02-01T18:40:49+00:00

xdroop: Google is on crack: http://t.co/vgfsOlEG

Google, Are You On Crack?

2012-02-01T13:40:22+00:00

Why the hell would somebody want to +1 an advertisement?!

xdroop: Ah, that quintessential Canadian winter game: "What pile of snow is my car under?"

2012-01-31T23:41:46+00:00

xdroop: Ah, that quintessential Canadian winter game: "What pile of snow is my car under?"

xdroop: Nice. I'm getting little electric shocks through my iPhone earbuds when I stand up. Is this how the Apple cult assimilation process works?

2012-01-31T18:21:02+00:00

xdroop: Nice. I'm getting little electric shocks through my iPhone earbuds when I stand up. Is this how the Apple cult assimilation process works?

xdroop: I'll take "How Hard Can It Possibly Be" for $600, Alex #SysadminJeopardy

2012-01-31T17:03:52+00:00

xdroop: I'll take "How Hard Can It Possibly Be" for $600, Alex #SysadminJeopardy

xdroop: Don't tell me we've hit bottom. If there's one thing life has taught me, it's that there's _always_ more down.

2012-01-30T21:00:34+00:00

xdroop: Don't tell me we've hit bottom. If there's one thing life has taught me, it's that there's _always_ more down.

xdroop: @acoyne @snobiwan Dear Penthouse.

2012-01-30T19:29:29+00:00

xdroop: @acoyne @snobiwan Dear Penthouse.

xdroop: @malikeye @snobiwan It only works if the intended target knows what the song is.

2012-01-30T18:25:20+00:00

xdroop: @malikeye @snobiwan It only works if the intended target knows what the song is.

xdroop: @snobiwan U Can't Touch This. Maham Maham. Don't Worry Be Happy. Rock Lobster. #EarwormWar

2012-01-30T18:10:04+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan U Can't Touch This. Maham Maham. Don't Worry Be Happy. Rock Lobster. #EarwormWar

xdroop: DAMMIT MAN THERE SHOULD BE A LAW AGAINST MENTIONING THAT SONG RT @snobiwan Monday's going so well that I've earwormed myself with Loveshack.

2012-01-30T17:10:21+00:00

xdroop: DAMMIT MAN THERE SHOULD BE A LAW AGAINST MENTIONING THAT SONG RT @snobiwan Monday's going so well that I've earwormed myself with Loveshack.

xdroop: Now you don't, now you see it again. #Nagios

2012-01-30T15:00:56+00:00

xdroop: Now you don't, now you see it again. #Nagios

Boomer Debt

2012-01-30T12:11:21+00:00

This week there was an article doing the rounds showing how older Canadians are still piling on debt. One economist went so far as to describe the behavior as being "punch-drunk" on debt.
The Globe And Mail followed that up by claiming Really, an increase in household debt isn't all bad. This response, I think, is more than a bit stupid.
Debt, fundamentally, is about trying to benefit today by bringing into today some of the value of future earnings. And like any tool, there are good uses and bad uses.
A good use would be paying for a university education, either for yourself or for your children. The net future value of that debt exceeds the carrying cost of that debt*.
A bad use of debt would be to bridge the gap between earnings and lifestyle. That is, accumulating debt to drive better cars, live in nicer houses, take nicer vacations, in such a way that there is no viable expectation that this debt can be discharged. And the evidence is that this, rather than investment debt, is the activity that the boomers are indulging in.
The Globe even falls into the boomer trap of wistfully noting:

Everything about the new generation now headed for the “retirement years” will be different from its predecessors – its family makeup, its aspirations (people aren’t as likely to downsize, especially with so many adult children returning home) and its tendency to keep borrowing.

To claim that "it is different this time" is a trap that so many people fall into again and again and again. Like the time it was different in the late '90s about the dot-com boom. Or the time that it was different in 2007 with low-pay or no-pay mortgages in the states. Or in 2012 in Canada where houses, already at historically unaffordable levels, "could only go up" in price. Or in 2014, where historically low interest rates could never possibly rise.
It is a fundamental law that what goes up must come down. The only exception to this rule are things which always go down, like the post-inflationary value of money. What gets borrowed must, at some point, be paid back -- which means you must have a plan at some point in the future for spending less than you make so that you can actually pay money back.

It’s risky to be punch-drunk, and many people are courting more than a bit of risk; but in risk is the possibility of growth.

Risk can be related to growth, but only if that risk is in an area where growth is even possible. To suggest that we should keep blindly borrowing and consumption-spending so that we can grow the economy is short-term stupid.
---
(*) == in general. A Masters degree in basket weaving may not be a long term net financial positive.

xdroop: Nathan the list-minder at the grocery store http://t.co/U75qTiyw

2012-01-29T20:56:02+00:00

xdroop: Nathan the list-minder at the grocery store http://t.co/U75qTiyw

xdroop: RT @McNutcase: Saw this at Target. I wonder if anyone there even realises it's funny? http://t.co/syPBiDzG

2012-01-28T21:40:38+00:00

xdroop: RT @McNutcase: Saw this at Target. I wonder if anyone there even realises it's funny? http://t.co/syPBiDzG

xdroop: Bob #Ray is like Newt #Gingrich: http://t.co/XO4UYODj

2012-01-28T15:59:19+00:00

xdroop: Bob #Ray is like Newt #Gingrich: http://t.co/XO4UYODj

Leadership

2012-01-28T10:58:21+00:00

Calling Bob Rae the best option for the Liberal leadership is like saying Newt Gingrich is the best option for the Republican nomination -- frankly it's more a scathing condemnation of the alternatives than an actual positive endorsement.

xdroop: Hear that? That's the sound of my phone on mute for the first time in a week. #offPager

2012-01-26T21:49:03+00:00

xdroop: Hear that? That's the sound of my phone on mute for the first time in a week. #offPager

xdroop: COMPUTER CRASH TWICE TODAY, I'M DONE -- AND I'M TAKING TOMORROW OFF TOO.

2012-01-26T21:23:01+00:00

xdroop: COMPUTER CRASH TWICE TODAY, I'M DONE -- AND I'M TAKING TOMORROW OFF TOO.

xdroop: @snobiwan Easy is as easy does.

2012-01-26T19:31:36+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan Easy is as easy does.

xdroop: @snobiwan its the same rules as the hockey night -- if you are only going once/twice a year, get the good tickets.

2012-01-26T19:28:15+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan its the same rules as the hockey night -- if you are only going once/twice a year, get the good tickets.

xdroop: @snobiwan dinner, parking, and decent tickets for the thing-du-jour -- kodo drummers, blue man group -- plus same for date^Wwife.

2012-01-26T19:26:57+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan dinner, parking, and decent tickets for the thing-du-jour -- kodo drummers, blue man group -- plus same for date^Wwife.

xdroop: @snobiwan Once a year I spend $200 on a night out at the hockey rink and twice a year I spend $300 at the NAC. So I'm culturally illiterate

2012-01-26T19:19:04+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan Once a year I spend $200 on a night out at the hockey rink and twice a year I spend $300 at the NAC. So I'm culturally illiterate

xdroop: @snobiwan eh, Ottawa's OK. I was just going for the cheap laugh. The fact I don't get out more is my fault, not Ottawa's.

2012-01-26T19:11:26+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan eh, Ottawa's OK. I was just going for the cheap laugh. The fact I don't get out more is my fault, not Ottawa's.

xdroop: @snobiwan K2K 1C- , $50.

2012-01-26T19:09:13+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan K2K 1C- , $50.

xdroop: Magic 8-ball says: Rogers probably messed up the BES/BIS thing. Again.

2012-01-26T19:08:28+00:00

xdroop: Magic 8-ball says: Rogers probably messed up the BES/BIS thing. Again.

xdroop: Proposed DSM-V definition for Autistic Spectrum Disorder http://t.co/VJHU79ng

2012-01-26T17:25:15+00:00

xdroop: Proposed DSM-V definition for Autistic Spectrum Disorder http://t.co/VJHU79ng

xdroop: Warning, Port Twitter: Excessive Broadcasts. See help. #HP #ProCurve

2012-01-26T16:21:50+00:00

xdroop: Warning, Port Twitter: Excessive Broadcasts. See help. #HP #ProCurve

Day 15231: Poor Judgement

2012-01-26T15:42:01+00:00

...like driving. I made a bunch of stupid mistakes today, fortunately none of them had permanent consequences.

xdroop: @mWare these drugs or what are getting you up really early in the morning. It is WAY unnatural.

2012-01-26T12:34:05+00:00

xdroop: @mWare these drugs or what are getting you up really early in the morning. It is WAY unnatural.

xdroop: RT @DEVOPS_BORAT: If you are ever need of ask for permission you are not true devops.

2012-01-26T04:31:37+00:00

xdroop: RT @DEVOPS_BORAT: If you are ever need of ask for permission you are not true devops.

xdroop: @snobiwan trolls don't want you, they want your audience.

2012-01-25T23:24:09+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan trolls don't want you, they want your audience.

xdroop: Confusing Russell Williams and Russell Peters.

2012-01-25T01:55:51+00:00

xdroop: Confusing Russell Williams and Russell Peters.

xdroop: We have glass for whiteboards: http://t.co/Qhbn4XtD

2012-01-24T22:54:19+00:00

xdroop: We have glass for whiteboards: http://t.co/Qhbn4XtD

xdroop: Frankly that #FanTab thing would be more fun if more people participated: #Sens http://t.co/PpwRasMi

2012-01-24T20:55:25+00:00

xdroop: Frankly that #FanTab thing would be more fun if more people participated: #Sens http://t.co/PpwRasMi

FanTab

2012-01-24T18:00:03+00:00

Frankly that FanTab thing to the right there would be more fun if more people participated.

The way it is, it's just me talking to myself and moving a slider up and down.

xdroop: Claiming that Obama put more Americans on foodstamps than any before him is false. Bush put them on foodstamps -- Obama's just paying out.

2012-01-24T03:45:03+00:00

xdroop: Claiming that Obama put more Americans on foodstamps than any before him is false. Bush put them on foodstamps -- Obama's just paying out.

xdroop: @mWare good luck man.

2012-01-23T13:33:18+00:00

xdroop: @mWare good luck man.

xdroop: Am I the only one struck by the irony of the party of American family values wanting to nominate an admitted adulterer for president?

2012-01-22T18:44:49+00:00

xdroop: Am I the only one struck by the irony of the party of American family values wanting to nominate an admitted adulterer for president?

xdroop: Alex, Elmo, and Grover play marbles http://t.co/begUuvGF

2012-01-22T17:54:17+00:00

xdroop: Alex, Elmo, and Grover play marbles http://t.co/begUuvGF

xdroop: Looks like another wiggles day -- third DVD is in already.

2012-01-21T15:16:33+00:00

xdroop: Looks like another wiggles day -- third DVD is in already.

xdroop: @newrelic @ditesh That's antastic news. Too bad your brand was diluted by the idiocy of it showing up twice in my feed. #fail #netloss

2012-01-21T12:09:01+00:00

xdroop: @newrelic @ditesh That's antastic news. Too bad your brand was diluted by the idiocy of it showing up twice in my feed. #fail #netloss

xdroop: Make Windows 7 Explorer actually usable: http://t.co/abwDrjqV

2012-01-21T12:06:40+00:00

xdroop: Make Windows 7 Explorer actually usable: http://t.co/abwDrjqV

xdroop: I'll take "Problem Is With Their Mail Server" for $400, Alex. #SysadminJeopardy

2012-01-19T19:21:04+00:00

xdroop: I'll take "Problem Is With Their Mail Server" for $400, Alex. #SysadminJeopardy

xdroop: @snobiwan Goofy humour is always considered classic* (by the modern definition == older than six weeks)

2012-01-19T18:26:07+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan Goofy humour is always considered classic* (by the modern definition == older than six weeks)

xdroop: @snobiwan I counter-offer as a literary standard Microserfs, Snow Crash, and Disney's The Princess Who Never Laughed Starring Goofy.

2012-01-19T17:59:14+00:00

xdroop: @snobiwan I counter-offer as a literary standard Microserfs, Snow Crash, and Disney's The Princess Who Never Laughed Starring Goofy.

xdroop: When I hear @Rands say "When you say...", I think "just talk to me like I'm the idiot you think I am."

2012-01-19T17:00:37+00:00

xdroop: When I hear @Rands say "When you say...", I think "just talk to me like I'm the idiot you think I am."

xdroop: THIS IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK! http://t.co/81AiiWpy Vote no on #UTC decoupling: http://t.co/3lherHX3

2012-01-19T15:29:00+00:00

xdroop: THIS IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK! http://t.co/81AiiWpy Vote no on #UTC decoupling: http://t.co/3lherHX3

xdroop: Dawn reflected in a drab line of winter houses http://t.co/Ik2BonAa

2012-01-19T12:44:05+00:00

xdroop: Dawn reflected in a drab line of winter houses http://t.co/Ik2BonAa

xdroop: Mmmm, what's that flavor? BITTER: http://t.co/TkJWsNjG #Sens

2012-01-18T17:21:59+00:00

xdroop: Mmmm, what's that flavor? BITTER: http://t.co/TkJWsNjG #Sens

xdroop: For all you internet geeks who think you can change the world by tweeting, I have four words for you: Snakes On A Plane.

2012-01-18T15:34:27+00:00

xdroop: For all you internet geeks who think you can change the world by tweeting, I have four words for you: Snakes On A Plane.