patrick.net

Animated picture of some kind that reflects the content of your ideas! I am not much of a designer, but I would look at the charts that are most often posted here about the price of houses overtime. Look at the most compelling ideas and think of what images they inspire. Ask your wife and children to help you design it. Make it something that reflects who you are and what you believe in.

Ideas:
Something that shows a banker taking food out of the mouth of a child.
A banker reclining comfortably in luxury perched on top of 99 people toiling and suffering.
A graphic of houses on fire as the slide down the housing graph.

Part of what I love about your site is the no bullshit layout. You don't need pretty pictures to get my attention. Your ideas and ethics win my attention.

You could post porn on the front page and get a lot of attention, but you don't want to be that guy.

Marching Cadence > Left Right Left

WHEN I WAS BORN MY DADDY LEFT! left, right, left.
LATER ON MY MOMMA LEFT! left, right, left.
I GOT DEPLOYED MY WOMAN LEFT! left, right, left.
THE ARMY THE ONLY THING THAT'S LEFT! left, right, left.
COME ON! left, right, left.
LOUDER! left, right, left.
COVER! left, right, left.
AGAIN! left, right, left.

Obviously they can figure out they have 2 feet. It doesn't look really complicated. However it tends to make the people that are normal. Feel real fuckin' dizzy.

Or another words if you assign limitless mental capicity. To people that don't really have it. You should either:

A. Walk away or give up - recommended
B. Hang around and get curious. Possibly being nice and polite
like your mother might be. Then you might because of the
repetitive world they have to live in (see above cadence)
Shift your brain down 5 gears to slow up and catch them
Then you might possibly get in line (gee that march does
look cool after all) and start singing the cadence. The only
thing that does not give away the cadence is: they don't have DUH at the end
of left, right left. Cute trick it's simple enough.

bg says

Animated picture of some kind that reflects the content of your ideas!

OK, I'd love an animated picture of a house on fire. Any graphic artists out there?

And it would be a very interesting experiment to put the image in and check the bounce rate, take it out, check it again.

I was thinking about what I said. In truth, I don't really know you. I should have said that isn't who I want you to be. I am just guessing about the rest of it. Maybe your wife would be behind the cheesecake pictures. I am just thinking that there are eye-catching pictures that reflect your ideas. That seems much better to me for such a intellectually well informed site.

OK, I'd love an animated picture of a house on fire. Any graphic artists out there?

And it would be a very interesting experiment to put the image in and check the bounce rate, take it out, check it again.

LIKE!!!

What other image would instantly grab the attention of someone who glances at the page?

boobs work

Bap33 says

boobs work

Depends on your audience and your goal!

This site has an outhouse on fire, says they're free.

Patrick,
I think your website is great, and your taste in women is fantastic. I say, include more cheesecake, and more left of center links!

If ONLY housing were actually bottoming out, I could see patrick.net Real Estate focus being past it's time.

However I still hear phrases like this in my social circles all the time:

"We are the the bottom, time to buy before it's too late!"

"Y'all should buy a house, it's going to be a great investment when the market starts appreciating at 10% like it used to."

"You aren't really saving any money unless you are BUILDING EQUITY".

"Only homeowners really build a community, people who rent just bring down a neighborhood".

Yeah not much has really changed, the cheerleaders for the American Dream being a treadmill of debt are still all there they just haven't been QUITE so in your face about it. But any time housing comes up the old bromides still pop out of their mouths. I live in Davis where median price is STILL way too high relative to income and it's astonishing how ignorant people are of how unaffordable it is, they only see "how much it's come down" as what a bargain that makes it. It was overpriced before, and is now less so, but is still....overpriced. One of our colleagues was telling us what a bargain the empty house across the street from her was at $350K. Maybe with a view of the Bay, but not a McMansion on a micro-lot in ag-school podunk town. Lot of educating still left to do.

Mick, you're an asshole and you're full of shit. Being for a government health insurance option to stop our collective rape by the corporate insurance oligopoly doesn't make me a Stalinist but you're too much of a narrow minded cretin to understand that.

Patrick, I'm not sure what direction you'd like to take your site, but as a longtime reader, I'm a bit taken aback by statements like this coming from the owner of a media channel I read. Among other things, I question the need to use what seems to me to be significant hyperbole, "sound bite" descriptions without supporting facts and ad hominem attacks. Yes, someone was trying to identify the political slant of the site, and of you, but, from my vantage, the response was disproportionate, unproductive and to a large extent nonresponsive to the original remark.

Patrick may have decreased the number of current links on the main page having to do with nursing homes and increased the topical often political ones. But since there are many regulars who toss around political arguments on the misc. forum, and because what he posts is informative (if biased) and reflects his point of view, I think it's great.

It's one of the main reasons I like the site. (I know - I'm one of the commie lefties. Ha)

Personally I agree with others above who have pointed out that what counts as leftist these days would have been very moderate in the days when the US was still ruled by a government that represented the people.

These are amazing times and strange times. Scary times. I say props to Patrick for for using the site to help inform the majority who are in the middle, relatively independent and open to learning where we are and what is at stake.

There is a huge amount of money and power that will be directed to preventing us from proper reforms. I fear the 1% might rather take us to world war 3 than to allow for example publicly funded elections. Our only hope is that a growing gradual movement that unifies us, rather than the usual divide and conquer can take shape and become a political force.

It's going to be tough though since the powerful who control the media have so many highly refined ways to distract us, and because so many of us are such fricking dim bulbs.

Ps: Patrick thanks for this awesome link to Chris Hedges talking about occupy Wall Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?source=patrick.net&v=uz5RxhahHK0

Perhaps We Agree says

I'm a bit taken aback by statements like this coming from the owner of a media channel I read. Among other things, I question the need to use what seems to me to be significant hyperbole

Yes, it is too much, but the idea is to point out there is now a separate forum (called "Outside") where such insults are perfectly acceptable.

If he's going to call me a Stalinist without justification, I'm going to call him an asshole. And we should take it Outside.

Actually, I think one finds links and comments on Patrick.net which run the gamut from "left" to "right". What I think is most consistent about them is the populist orientation of many of the articles and comments. In a country where the rich really are getting richer and everyone else is not -- or is actually getting poorer -- it can't be too surprising that populist sentiments are growing stronger everyday. These very feelings of marginalization and protest were dominant in the progressive movement of the early 20th century (which achieved some great things), and they lie behind much "Tea Party" rhetoric as well as that of the "Occupy Wall Street" folks. While there are certainly significant differences between these two groups, the overall frustration and sense of populist protest is deeply felt and shared by all their members. I do worry about our future though. Populism can lead to great reforms, but it can also lead to extreme reactionary responses that can actually make matters worse. I don't think anyone knows what the best path forward is, and most people probably know that deep in their hearts. That is what makes this crisis so frightening. At any rate, I think Patrick does a great job collecting relevant news articles, renaming them in sometimes controversial ways that force one to think (whether you agree with him or not). This promotes *critical* thinking and real debate -- which can lead to transformation of understandings on the part of all participants -- and these are things which this country could use a lot more of...

Patrick's site has become far too leftist for my taste also. I like the real estate news, but the Anti Republican anti Tea Party stuff is lame.

What the leftist political propaganda does is pigeon hole Patrick as just another "San Francisco liberal", and then one takes the whole web site far less serious.
Patrick you need to know that the political stuff really detracts from your web site.

Nomograph says

if you think the Patrick.net is too "leftist" for you taste, then obviously America is too "leftist" for you also

Damn right.

Next thing you know some radical right winger might suggest some seditious cost controls at public universities.

eteall says

screwed up and hit the "take it outside" link on his post by accident mods, please ignore, thanks

underwaterman says

Where are all the people that discuss the pros and cons of an opinion instead of ad hominem personal attacks?

Most people on the internet period do not want to discuss facts. They only want to spout opinions and then get offended when you disagree with them since their opinions are at least in part based on personal beliefs, feelings, and experience. So they often end up taking any disagreement as personal.

This is also very common if not the norm IRL too. People in general aren't really very good and debate or discussing beliefs or facts.

Particularly if they're irrational to begin with. You can't reason at all with those people.

That is why Mick is getting called out as asshole for instance.

If he's going to call me a Stalinist without justification, I'm going to call him an asshole.

Patrick, Once again, I don't know where you want to take the site, but from my perspective this is now showing petulance. I tend to prefer media channels where the owners and commentators take the high ground. Name calling ad hominem attacks don't move the dialog along in a productive way. Further, calling him an "asshole" is completely unrelated to the discussion. Yes, calling you "Ron Paulish" or "Stalinist" rather than explaining why he thinks some of your positions are like those of Ron Paul or Stalin is at best crude and minimally productive dialog, but at least those were somewhat related to the overall discussion.

underwaterman says

Another comment on your forums, I only tend to come here once and awhile because the level of discussions in my opinion is terrible. The loss of civility and intelligence is evident.

stop being a hypocrite and get off your high horse. saying there's a lack of intelligence is just as bad as an ad-hominen attack. get lost moron.

According to ZH, I'm part of the 1%. So it's a good thing I'm not involved in the protests: http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/who-are-1

A few of you have alluded to "following the rules". What are the rules?
Go to college and get a degree?
When you're out of a job, beg the gov't for assistance?

Are those the rules?
I don't have a degree. I chose to drop out of college after a year and a half, because I didn't believe that $40,000+ debt was justifiable when I lived in a country that permitted me to succeed without a degree. Was I right or was I wrong? I would say I'm right since I'm now part of the 1%.

I did not know that Gov't assistance was available to everyone; I thought it was only available to those that made under a certain amount of money in their previous job. I know better now; but I was last laid off in 2008 (in my mid-30s) and didn't know that I could get gov't assistance.

The "rules" I grew up with, thanks to my parents, were simple:
If you don't have a job, then you go find one.
If you can't find a job, then you create one. (Meaning you talk someone into creating it for you or else you start a business)

My current job requires a PhD. Yet, I have no degree.

The "rules" are those that you choose to follow. If you don't agree with the "rules" (as I did not), then create your own. You're free to succeed and you're free to fail. That is capitalism. I've been fired; I've been laid off. I got back up and moved forward anyway. When I was last laid off in 2008 (right when everything was starting to hit home and post-Lehman) it took me 2 days to find a new job. 2 days. Not because I have a degree (which I do not) and not because I have connections (I knew no one at the new company I went to work for). But simply because my parents taught me to watch out for and take care of myself. Make wise decisions. Go find your way and find it well. That kind of advice, while very simplistic, applies to every aspect of your life: criminal record, driving record, resume, positions, attitude, you name it.

Don't tell me Obama is a great leader because he fights for the 99%. No he doesn't. He fights for the 1% while making believe otherwise. Don't tell me any other leader fights for the 99%. It's impossible to fight for the 99% when you're deep in the 1%. I don't just mean deep in the pockets of the 1%, I mean you're deeply part of the 1%. How much are each of these people worth? That makes none of them part of the 99%. You're not going to voluntarily fight for those that oppose the amount of money you have; but if it'll get you re-elected, then you'll happily lie about it.

Obama
Biden
Boehner
Pelosi
Reid
Perry
Paul

They are all part of the 1%. Don't believe their lies. Instead vote for who you think is best qualified to make the right decisions for the country, not for the 99% they claim to support, because then you're just stuck following in another liar's speech.

Perhaps We Agree says

Further, calling him an "asshole" is completely unrelated to the discussion.

I'm trying to encourage use of the "Outside" forum where people can be as hostile as they want. It was a deliberate provocation to get him to use the Take It Outside link. Didn't work though!

Larry Patrick Baloney say

If Patrick doesn't mend his ways, this site will not remain a haven for real estate watchers, and will pass away.

It's been at least six years since patnet became popular - and it hasn't jumped the shark yet. That's because Patrick posts links to topical articles, provides us with a forum to spew whatever info we'd like, and rarely censors us.

There are funny comments, stupid comments, interesting comments, and - yes, some very offensive comments. Some of those have been deleted, many have not.

The cool thing is that Patrick supports all of this free speech. He hasn't given any ground rules, other than the "be nice" thing (which is recent - there have been some posters who've been unbelievably nasty up until now).

Mr. Baloney, might I invite you to continue posting scintillating comments? But if you truly believe that this place is doomed, feel free to jump ship.

LarryPatrickMaloney says

I have seen a tragic downturn in the quantity, and quality of real estate postings over the past few months.
Every day, it's 70-80% of left leaning, political rhetoric.

He's posting links to articles in the news. Perhaps your problem is with the media.

underwaterman says

Thank you for proving my point. You hit all 3: lack of intelligent discussion, loss of civility, and ad-hominem attack.

You are pretty funny. How about you post something intelligent to the forums and improve the debate? Instead of insulting the rest of the forum?

This pyramic structure is accurate. It's a club and guess what? YOU AREN"T IN IT: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=290806174270662&set=a.199728590045088.51088.100000238443011&type=1&theater

underwaterman says

Thank you for proving my point. You hit all 3: lack of intelligent discussion, loss of civility, and ad-hominem attack.

you hit all three and are also a hypocrite. so i win. moron.

Nomograph says

propitup1 says

Patrick's site has become far too leftist for my taste also.

This is a real estate discussion forum, not MoveOn.org. What you see here is simply a random slice of mostly Americans.

If you think the Patrick.net is too "leftist" for you taste, then obviously America is too "leftist" for you also.

Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery -- Jane Austen

Doc,
pretty big jump you make here. The first part is 100% right on, but the second parts makes a serious inference that relection of PatNet Posters matches the GenPop, and I would humbly disagree. There may be a zillion reason why, but the fact remains that this whole cyber place is tilted left, and PatNet is left of center of America by a large portion of any scale. In my humble opinion.

American media is too left
American Marines are not.

Patrick what I am trying to point out is the liberal political commentary discredits the news element.
Right now the site has the real estate news and the liberal political agenda. If you don't subscribe to the political agenda of your site, then you are apt to reject or question the adgenda of the news side of the blog.

If you think I am wrong about this, I would like to point out the ratings of CNN, and the major tv stations and news papers, like the Los Angeles Times. Despite their claims to be fair and balanced, Their viewers and ratings have plummeted in recent years because most viewers find their political agenda far too burdensome and one sided.

Fox ratings remains extremely high, but they are quite open and do not hide their Republican/ conservative leanings. Fox's audience are people who already subscribe to Republican/conservative thought. Your site has a much more varied readership.

You might make the stance that Patrick.net should become the liberal website that talks about real estate news and liberal views, but if that is the case people who don't buy into the liberal agenda will just turn this site off. I haven't turned off your site, but It is obvious that Patrick and most on this blog are big San Francisco liberals.

Patrick what I am trying to say is that I like many Americans only watch CNN when I want to see what the liberal point of view is, and this has marginalized CNN. Furthermore almost nobody in LA (including myself) will purchase an LA times newspaper.

propitup1 says

Fox ratings remains extremely high, but they are quite open and do not hide their Republican/ conservative leanings

?? Last I checked, their slogan was "fair and balanced". Did it change to "Heavily biased to the right?"

elliemae says

The cool thing is that Patrick supports all of this free speech.

NOT the best of this thread. I vote this as the best line of the whole Forum.

"Eloquent Ellie"

underwaterman says

I respect Patrick and his mission a great deal and to see him pulled down to where he is name calling in his own forum ("asshole" above) is a sign to me something is seriously wrong here. A quick observation at the level of discussion leads me back to the theme of the loss of civility and a forum culture gone awry.

The "asshole" comment was a first for me, and is a deliberate attempt to populate the Outside forum with uncivil discussion.

The idea is that the forum can be split into an uncivil area (the Outside forum) and a civil area (all the other forums).

All internet forum culture suffers from a lack of civility. If I can't stop it, at least maybe I can give it a place to flourish which is separate and contained.

Get it? Maybe it won't work, but it's worth a shot, and that's why I deliberately insulted that asshole. Oops! ;-)

Really ? The outside wasn't an after thought ?

I don't see "outside" working. The fact is that even when people are involved in relatively civil discussion in writing (without all the clues that come from body language etc. , and without the physical presence which usually adds to the politeness) it's easy to read more insult than intended in to what is written. I'm assuming most people have learned that with emails.

If you open up a place for people to let loose with personal attacks, what possible good can that do ?

Probably about as much as when people take things outside in the real world. Except in this case, its for fake verbal battles. Also people may end up saying things that only harms their ability to enjoy the regular forums.

On the bright side, people probably won't be using it much. IT might be good just for saying, "let's take this outside" (and quickly getting something off your chest) but it seems to me the ignore button is better.

Tatupu,
I am not sure about Fox news, but I do think it is fair to say that Hannity, O'reilly and Glen Beck do offer the Conservative / Republican view point.

TMAC54 says

NOT the best of this thread. I vote this as the best line of the whole Forum.
"Eloquent Ellie"

I'd dare say that many, many people have said lines that are worthy of "best of." Not so sure that any of mine rate.

But thank you - and it's one cute kiddy/kitty pic.

propitup1 says

Tatupu,
I am not sure about Fox news, but I do think it is fair to say that Hannity, O'reilly and Glen Beck do offer the Conservative / Republican view point.

Agreed--they definitely do. My point is that if you ask them--they will profess to be "independent" and not Republican. Just as FOX news professes to be "fair and balanced".

yep all hope for reason went out the window when the extreme right tried to force that bullshit to be taught along side evolution.

Eneg says

I don't have a degree. I chose to drop out of college after a year and a half, because I didn't believe that $40,000+ debt was justifiable when I lived in a country that permitted me to succeed without a degree. Was I right or was I wrong? I would say I'm right since I'm now part of the 1%

You're entire post is nothing but "BOOTSTRAPS HOOOOAAAAAH" nonsense and fallacious "Just World" nonsense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis

If you made it great, but guess what as you note you're part of the 1%.

This makes your experience an exception to what not only the common man/woman has been able to accomplish but even an exception to the vast overwhelming majority of highly intelligent and hard working people out there.

Now you don't judge a system based on outliers and exceptions, you end up with a skewed and incorrect view if you do. You base your judgements on how the majority or ideally the vast overwhelming majority fare, or in this case the so called 99%. I know its more like 90-80% but whatever, that is a nitpick that ignores the meat of the issue.

That issue is of course that people in general are getting poorer while working just as hard or even harder than their parents, which is where the "I did the right things why am I not getting rewarded?" talk comes in which you're attempting to twist for your own benefit.

I mean its well known unemployment and underemployment are very high and that wages have been stagnating or dropping for the last few decades while costs have risen, sometimes quite a bit. Like on gas, or homes, or healthcare.

Yet you say the problem is they're not looking for jobs hard enough or something? Or that they need to create their own job?! Are you kidding? With what are they supposed to do that with hmmm? Some bootstraps and duct tape perhaps? You know most small businesses fail and its difficult to get financing even if your idea is good right now and you're willing to work 12-16hr shifts non-stop right?

underwaterman says

Creating that space to me is giving implicit approval of the behavior.

But that behavior exists irregardless of whether that space exists or not, which is why Patrick is trying to put it "Outside" so to speak.

This is a people problem not a technological one, you're not going to solve it with technology.

OK, I'd love an animated picture of a house on fire.

Sorry Patrick. Couldn't find a house on fire

All I could find was this "REDNECK FIRE ALARM"

there is enough political jargon every where you look. This was one site that I thought was a great resource for information unbiased by to politics.

I'd like to share a short point with you, if you'll allow.

No matter what the operation, whether a non-profit website or a business, the most successful ones will have 1 object and they will be specialized in that objective.

This website used to be a RE website, which made it very unique to so much other political BS that's available on the internet. When politics and RE information are commingled into one site, the primary objective of the site loses its impact and even though your number of emails and visitors is on a climb, your efficacy has become reduce and will continue to be reduced.

Regards.