Housing Prices Lowest in 15 Years

Economics is a fascinating and frustrating "science". Why? Because it all comes down to human perception. Things are worth what we collectively think they are worth. "Intrinsic value" has very little meaning for most things in the modern economy. We're seeing this in the housing market where people are holding off buying not because prices are too high, or mortgages are impossible to get, but because of a collective sense that things are getting worse.

One reason the market is hurting is that buyers and sellers are in a standoff over prices. Many sellers are reluctant to lower their prices. And buyers are hesitating because they think home prices haven't bottomed out.

"It really is a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Aaron Zapata, a real estate agent in Brea, Calif. "If all buyers perceive that home prices are coming down, then they will stop making offers -- and home prices will come down."

Of course, in the middle of the Great Recession, people are also loathe to take on a new, massive 30 year pile of debt. Still, we all know when house prices will turn around. When we collectively decide they should!

I had never before heard of "Reverse Shoplifting"

The NYTimes has up an interesting article on a relatively recent invention of guerilla marketers and ne'er-do-wells: reverse shoplifting or shop-dropping.

Anti-consumerist artists slip replica products packaged with political messages onto shelves while religious proselytizers insert pamphlets between the pages of gay-and-lesbian readings at book stores.

Self-published authors sneak their works into the “new releases” section, while personal trainers put their business cards into weight-loss books, and aspiring professional photographers make homemade cards — their Web site address included, of course — and covertly plant them into stationery-store racks.

“Everyone else is pushing their product, so why shouldn’t we?” said Jeff Eyrich, a producer for several independent bands, who puts stacks of his bands’ CDs — marked “free” — on music racks at Starbucks whenever the cashiers look away.

Not sure what to think of this. On the one hand, you have to applaud the creativity. On the other hand, it would be a horrible thing to purchase a family-friendly item only to find a raunchy political protest pamphlet inside. It amazes me to see that there is no line, however simple and harmless, that people are unwilling to cross when they find they can.

Weapons of Mass Cuteness... Oh Yeah, And Destruction

File this one under "Nomad's Least Favorite Stores, Because If I Wrote A Story About Them It'd Be Called A Cheap Trick". Still, who can resist a flaming squirrel? Not me.

"The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was," Tony Millar said. "The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car.
"They're always coming around here, chewing through the garbage," he added.

Tony Millar says his sister was fully insured.

Somewhere, Dreamworks is wondering if they suddenly have the plot for their next animated feature.