tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post8669141958027952764..comments2024-03-26T10:54:59.476-07:00Comments on spoke'n'scene: Taking shelter from an infinite ceiling in a perfect storm.babble onhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-73253594658118927892015-05-14T14:26:47.574-07:002015-05-14T14:26:47.574-07:00It’s very frustrating to know about things like th...It’s very frustrating to know about things like that. There are homeless people out there suffering from the cold weather because they have no place to dwell in. There are things we can do to help them, although limited, and that's the saddest part. In any way, thank you for sharing an eye opener! All the best to you!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://lambertandwilliams.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/important-elements-included-in-the-estate-law/" rel="nofollow">Jerry Brady @ Lambert And Williams</a><br />Jerry Bradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568837837640959771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-29613480565884063422015-05-03T07:15:18.549-07:002015-05-03T07:15:18.549-07:00Congratulations! That's great news! What fun! ...Congratulations! That's great news! What fun! I wish I could say the same... I was totally loving my work, when the coolest little company in the world laid. me. off. Bloody hell, THAT wreaks havoc with a girl's plans.<br /><br />I had never, ever noticed an empty place until I became aware of the high rates of uninhabited places in this city. And still, so often these places are well manicured, so it is virtually impossible to tell. But people looking for a place to rent or buy here in Vancouver are all too well aware of the dearth of appropriate homes. Our rental vacancy rate is below one percent, which is not exactly ideal.babble onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-75892074213831845682015-04-23T03:22:49.267-07:002015-04-23T03:22:49.267-07:00Hey Babbs, I've been busy in a new job :) so a...Hey Babbs, I've been busy in a new job :) so a bit slack on my internet chores.<br />Yes, interest rates here are around 5% for the average home buyer. I've been keeping an eye out for empty houses and not spotted any yet. I don't ride around the streets much though. Mostly "rail trails" and bike paths etc.<br />I completely agree with the fundamental change required. A change is how we measure what's "good" and what's "growth"Harryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17605332811185806347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-2393523608206572432015-04-13T06:26:57.887-07:002015-04-13T06:26:57.887-07:00Do publish his bikes if possible. He and I must be...Do publish his bikes if possible. He and I must be kindred spirits. I find and build junk into rides. It seems that my pets and friends fit that parameter as well. Living things get more respect, though. Especially Mother Earth.<br /><br />Whenever I watch a documentary of someone climbing Mt. Everest or other near death adventures, I can't suspend the reality that there is a videographer there. They are doing everything the subjects are but also carrying gear and shooting.<br /> <br />jodphotonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-92088252653623533302015-04-12T12:09:22.867-07:002015-04-12T12:09:22.867-07:00Hmm... interesting. Are your interest rates super ...Hmm... interesting. Are your interest rates super low right now, too? I am assuming that most first world governments reacted to the market meltdown with the same sort of low interest, fiscal stimulus sort of response.<br /><br />Take a look around. You might find that there are more empty places in your neighbourhood than you had ever imagined. Is a house's garden tended, yet there's never a bin out on pick-up day? (The gardens in those photos are all tended, it's just that the gardening happens according to a schedule, instead of when the trees get messy, which is what you would do if you lived there.) Is ther house always shuttered, with a few strategic lights on? Is there never a car in the drive? Once you start to look, it's fairly easy to determine whether a house is occupied, and it rarely takes more than a visit or two to figure it out.<br /><br />The trouble with a whole host of unoccupied investment properties is that there never, ever will be a shortage of renters, because there is always a shortage of available housing. Here in Vancouver, we are at a very uncomfortable <1% vacancy. That would quickly change if unoccupied houses were even moderately taxed for their vacancy.<br /><br />I agree, that you can can only arrive at your destination when you have a specific destination in mind, and that you can only turn a juggernaught gradually and with caution, lest you cause an upset. The devastation that an overwhelming number of foreclosures caused in the heart of many American cities is a warning to us all, and yet our economies need a fundamental change. What would happen if rather than a focus on shareholder returns, and infinite economic growth in a world with finite resources, we instead valued and rewarded the comapnies that created the most good for the greatest number of people? Sounds farfetched, yes, but something HAS to give. And if we can imagine it, we can create it.babble onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-35313012441955651612015-04-11T23:45:20.916-07:002015-04-11T23:45:20.916-07:00G'day Babbs,
Thank you once again for another ...G'day Babbs,<br />Thank you once again for another entertaining, interesting and thought provoking post.<br /><br />I haven't noticed many empty houses here. But then I haven't been looking. I expect if there are any they will more likely be further north in Sydney or Queensland where it's warmer.<br />As a double negative, being empty they don't even bring money into the local economy as they would if people lived there; you'd think... Possibly apart from council rates and utility fees depending whether you suffer the same "business" models as we do.<br />It doesn't even look like they pay gardeners to keep the places tidy.<br />I have noticed homeless people even though I haven't been looking.<br /><br />I love your phrases too by the way:<br />"These wonders of architectural mediocrity..."<br /><br />On interest rates.. We've created a good old fashioned conundrum.<br />We bought the house we live in during a period of relatively high rates following a period of around 16% for a few years.<br />As with most people at the time we were very conservative based on our concerns that rates could go back to 16% or higher.<br />With interest rates so low now people haven’t been so conservative and are up to their hipster beards in debt. The problem now is that if rates go up, hundreds of thousands of people won't be able to afford their repayments. They, or their banks, will have to sell when there is an over-supply driving prices down. You lot will know all this anyway based on the US story. Probably a bit different but the same melt down at the end.<br />And being a responsible tax payer some years ago I did the "right" thing to ease the future burden on the old age pension system and bought an "investment" house myself. So far it's been a great deal for the tenants. It doesn't fill me with joy that I'm now part of the problem but "everyone" is doing it and I'm just one so surely that's OK?<br /><br />To add to the problem we have negative gearing tax laws here that make it attractive to buy an "investment" property if you're in a higher income tax bracket (which is why mine is a good deal for my tenants). Pushing the house prices up a bit more with the increased demand. There doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment finding people to rent them either.<br />Unlike investing in manufacturing which is on the way out and ironically also the source of income for a lot of people who rent..<br /><br />How do "they" start to turn the ship without causing an instant crash or melt down?<br />Have an end point or objective and make a lot of small changes over time while keeping people informed so they can adjust their business to suit.<br />If they reduced the amount than can be claimed on a domestic rental property from 100% to 95%, for example, some people would not invest that way any more and it probably wouldn't cause a melt down; unless someone incited irrational panic - which can happen!<br />Sort of like a continuous feedback mechanism that you'd use to keep a ship heading in the right direction as the winds and ocean currents change.<br /><br />Time for a beer.<br />Ride on !<br />Harryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17605332811185806347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-23857737208254721612015-04-11T07:11:43.850-07:002015-04-11T07:11:43.850-07:00Why... thank you kindly, sir! :D
Yes, I am a very...Why... thank you kindly, sir! :D<br /><br />Yes, I am a very lucky girl to have such an artist at hand. He curates beautiful bikes, too, and though I would like to turn the lens on him, he is modest and prefers to stay on the other side of the camera. One day I might just feature the collection of bicycles he has pulled together, though, because they really are gorgeous. Tom Burrows, one of the local artists I've featured a few times (most recently in <a href="http://spokenscene.blogspot.ca/2015/01/the-art-of-living-well-or-well-art-of.html" rel="nofollow"> The Art of Living Well, or, Well, Living the Art</a>) actually held a gallery showing of these bikes several years ago. Many of them have been sold or given away, but there are still a couple dozen of them around which I have access to, and if anything is worthy of these pages, they most definitely are. I just need to concvince the man who built them. <br /><br />We were riding by a dumpster in a lane in the heart of the financial district downtown a couple of years ago, when he spotted an old roadbike which had been stripped and tossed on top. Later on that evening he said "I can't help it. It's my heroine," and he went downtown to retrieve the old Italian steel mess from the dumpster. A few weeks later it was <a href="http://spokenscene.blogspot.ca/2014/03/peddling-my-ass_11.html" rel="nofollow">unrecognisable.</a> That's whatchacall Talent. Every bike he curates has a distinctive style to it. They are simple and elegant, and perfectly balanced. He fiddles with various parts, and changes things around till it looks "right," and it always ends up a thing of beauty. And then every day, after he decides which clothes to wear, he has to choose which bike to ride, too!<br /><br />babble onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-33972722866591737072015-04-11T06:41:37.903-07:002015-04-11T06:41:37.903-07:00Thank you, Old-timer. You're so very consisten...Thank you, Old-timer. You're so very consistently thoughtful and kind, and I value that above all.<br /><br />Some days I despair for the Earth ship we are leaving for our children's children. I remain convinced that the only thing which will save us, given the rampant corruption obvious in governments across the planet, is an idea whose time has come. Unless enough of us can see a better way, and until we collectively stop "buying in" to the madness, we're lost, the lot of us.babble onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-68316853568424546162015-04-11T06:37:23.542-07:002015-04-11T06:37:23.542-07:00Every day...! :)
It's a gift, this life. If o...Every day...! :)<br /><br />It's a gift, this life. If only we humans - the lone "civilized" species - valued it more.babble onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08895102832912891306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-56594399750382354532015-04-10T09:15:04.423-07:002015-04-10T09:15:04.423-07:00Hey Babs,
Great post.
I almost forgot about the...Hey Babs,<br /><br />Great post. <br /><br />I almost forgot about the activism part of your blog, what with all the injured leg and butt pictures.<br /><br />Being a photographer myself, I am always aware of your photography and assume you ride with a photographer. Yes? Nice job on their part as well.<br /><br />Your journalism is hidden behind your persona but it is none the less extant.<br /><br />Peace, lady.<br /><br />jodphotonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-37544251070066688612015-04-09T12:29:13.040-07:002015-04-09T12:29:13.040-07:00Babble,
I understand that it is extremely difficu...Babble,<br /><br />I understand that it is extremely difficult to change the course of a colossal ship that is under full steam. Your description of Vancouver gives me the same sense: Vancouver…on a collision course with unaffordable housing/diminishing middle class/stagnant wages/homelessness…FULL STEAM AHEAD! <br /><br />Really? Duh. Is anyone “in charge” there?<br /><br />I share your perception: “Something’s got to give.” I wonder what it will be? It’s a little frightening. <br /><br />I’m like you: keepin’ it simple. Riding my bike. Not spending money that I don’t have. Observing.<br /><br />Great illustrated post, Babble!!! You are a first-class journalist!<br /><br />Old-timer Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85530486549729740.post-20570331931613397582015-04-09T10:07:58.196-07:002015-04-09T10:07:58.196-07:00Queen Victoria's parting words were along the ...Queen Victoria's parting words were along the line, "All my fortune for a few moments more."<br /><br />Act accordingly. Ride.il Pirata est Mortnoreply@blogger.com