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Knew this thread would be a hoot. Nevertheless, I've never had a problem while driving caused by a bike doing what what they are supposed to do. I pass them, at most with several cars ahead of me it takes less than a minute to get past him/her.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:35 PM) Don't cyclists have the same rights on the road as cars? Just move over into the right lane and stay out of my way and we're good. Don't make it difficult for me to pass you. I totally get that riding the sidewalk isn't the greatest idea. On the other hand, motorcyclists who whip around me when I'm doing 75 on the highway... yeah. I'm visualizing you crashing into the back of a truck. haha, same.

What's worse was this kid who yelled at the cyclists, we were in San Francisco where legally cyclists should be treated as a car, so they have right to the whole lane. So annoying. My friend had a drink thrown at him by a passing car, who then had a stop sign. HE caught up to them and pulled his bike in front and just stared at them. They were scared to move. My friend isn't big. I think people think the bike works as weaponry.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:26 PM) If there are no cars around, then I won't stop at all. If I am at a red light with a green left-turn arrow I sometimes go if there are no more cars turning--in part because it seems like this gives me more visibility. True, if there are no cars I don't go to a complete stop but I do slow down enough to make sure there are none. But I file that under "if a tree falls in the woods..."

Nothing really pisses me off more when I'm driving with someone than when they arbitrarily honk at a biker and get pissed off when the biker is doing NOTHING wrong. And pre-emptively, let me say this, as someone who rides bikes I hate when cyclists don't follow the rules of the road either. They SHOULD stop at stop lights and stop signs and everything else. BUt that's beside the point, because what I"m talking about is my experience with getting angry at cyclists merely for being on a road and you have to go around them. Yesterday I was riding and a car rolls down their window, honks and tells me to get the eff off the road. He then realizes he has a stop light ahead, and I kindly roll up next to him. My friends and I continue to get honked and berated for following the law, and now it's at the point where on some roads I've just given up and gone on the sidewalk because I'm sick of getting harrassed. And more embarrassed when someone I'm in the car with does it and screams something idiotic like "the road is for cars". And I'm just wondering where this immediate deep seeded anger-filled responses come from JUST FOR RIDING ON THE ROAD. I've driven past cyclists, it's not that big of an inconvenience. And once more, I'm not defending the ones who breaking the law or anything.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:39 PM) That does change the discrepancy. I wonder if there's a transcript of that. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/us/28gat...wley&st=cse Not to keep bringing this up, but the woman claims she never said that, still. And the records of the dispatcher show she told crowley she didn't know what race, one possibly hispanic. When Crowley arrived on the scene, the woman merely told him it was her who called. I can't find CNN's clip yet or anything other than what Crowley said, but I'll keep looking.

Sounds like you wanted stimulus refunds in the form of Lowe's gift cards.

I've never claimed that.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:43 PM) At this point, his value was near-zero. Getting anything for him at all is a plus. I'd have traded him for Jon Adkins...TODAY I like BA but if he can't get on the field there's no purpose in keeping him here.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:24 PM) Fields has plenty of options left and hopefully we're not totally writing him off yet. I'd like to see him swinging the bat everyday in AAA for at least a few weeks. Sorry. What I mean is that when I first saw this deal I was excited that he was replacing Wise, not Fields. I hadn't known how slowed Mark Kotsay had become.

I have experience with the VA. My friends father just had elbow surgery last year through VA. He's now playing tennis.

samesies. Apologies.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:27 PM) Yes and that was stupid, although not necessarily "wrong," on Crowley's part. But still Obama shouldn't have weighed in with that question at the end of his healthcare press conference. He really shouldn't weigh in on anything off-topic, nowadays, because the media is hoping to find anything to avoid talking about healthcare. But I reject the notion that an officer cannot be criticized without the claim that all officers are being criticized. Some people make poor choices and deserve to get called on it, especially if they are in power.

You don't find the discrepancy interesting? The cop defends himself by saying that he was called about two black men with back packs on a possible break-in. Yet the phone call mentions nothing of black, nothing of backpacks, in fact it says briefcases (this isn't the thomas crown affair), and states that it could be their house and they were just concerned neighbors in case something came up. Now, I'm not an old black professor who has studied race relations and has probably come across profiling in my life, I'm in pretty good shape being an educated white male with impeccable looks. And for the most part I'm more than polite and submissive to cops. But there have been a few times where I've become extremely frustrated and snippy when continuing to get berated when clearly nothing had been wrong, had given them proof of age, and that nothing was being done wrong, and still they persisted, claiming they had right to check my vehicle, which they didn't. And when I did not give them permission they threatened. now from my personal experience I can see getting really frustrated if a cop were to come in my house late at night claiming I'm a burger burglar after a trip when it is my house. And then further when proven that the house is my own. Because the fact is the officer holds a lot more power than I do. And this officer arresting someone for getting his feelings hurt after doing nothing wrong and really nothing to even provoking an officer really makes me question. At first when I heard that the officer was called on two black males breaking in, I thought it was just a question of things heating up and the officer going too far. BUt now that I know the nature of the phone call, it really makes me wonder.

Kind of disappointed this means the end of Fields instead of Wise. Not that I like Fields, I just especially don't like Wise on this team. A shame Kotsay can't play OF anymore.

Crazy, I could've swore I found some sort of...transcript... and posted it...

You question everything, except select first-hand accounts that fit with your ideology, and clearly applicable to the greater whole. This cannot be questioned, or disputed, because how do you dispute someone's stories? Put them in context? Context is liberal. Collect data? No. And if you believe finding stories that would contradict the first stories could be used to question beliefs, ooh boy, you are dead wrong.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:09 PM) That's pretty much my interperetation as well. Gates acted stupidly for not showing ID, for claiming racism, and for trying to continue the confrontation (never a good idea with pretty much any cop). The cop was too impatient and should have been man enough to walk away anyway. The idea that this situation boils down to "the police acted stupidly" is in itself stupid. one thing though, what's worse. Being rude to a cop coming into your home and claiming you broke in, even being disrespectful and crude... or arresting someone.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:08 PM) I think I agree with Jesse Ventura -- I'm not sure when it happened, but wow...raising questions has become a bad thing, apparently. Even here on Sox Talk. I have questions...so we should jump on Y2HH and try to belittle him so nobody takes him seriously anymore and his opinions and questions no longer hold water. I guess that's just the modern time. I apologize for questioning the validity of polls. I apologize for questioning the governments ability to run health care. I apologize for having questions -- I don't know why I do -- I mean, you guys have all the answers, it seems. I'll just fall in line and listen to everything you say, nod in agreement like a good little lemming, and maybe you'll give me a chocolate chip cookie now and again. I'd rather not. Hey sarah palin what's up

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:05 PM) I'm convinced. All polls are accurate! I work for Blue Cross, I have for years, BTW, and I've never heard of CAHPS. Again...what "private insurers" use this? Funny how that's omitted. I love some of the language in there. Used by *virtually* all. Ok, so not all, but some...but which some...we don't actually say. Meh. in my minimal experience of studying public policy, I ran into CAHPS in two of the four papers, albeit they were on medicare/SCHIP. I ran into them in numerous political science journalis, such as publius. It is a government agency. In the publishings, all the data required was published in it. This is the way the world works.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:02 PM) Ask me to take a poll for you -- any poll -- ill even turn in all my collected data. But you can't be there when I collect that data. I bet I can show you whatever I want. How are you going to know what I did to get it? You don't. So no, it's not incorrect unless you assume I follow all of your rules, but reality is, I don't have to do so. oh my god. how many examples do you have of a polling agency who took a poll - Published the full poll as all are, with what questions were asked, demographics polled, time of day, answers, non answers, hang ups, etc. - but all of this data was lies. Instead of asking "do you approve of this bill" they actually asked "this bill will kill you and all your loved ones, will you vote for it?". How many examples are there of this? Rasmussen is famous for their somewhat loaded questions, and they still report the questions. THey still report the demographics polled and reasoning behind it.

stealing quote, etc. BACKGROUND: THE OFFICER SAID THE DISPATCH CALLER SAID TWO BLACK MEN WITH BACK PACKS SEEN BREAKING INTO HOME. " 911 OPERATOR: 9-1-1, what is the exact location of your emergency? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Hi, I'm actually at (inaudible) street in Cambridge, the house number is 7 Ware Street. 911 OPERATOR: OK ma'am, your cell phone cut out, what's the address again? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Sorry, it's 7 Ware Street. That's W-A-R-E Street. 911 OPERATOR: The emergency is at 7 Ware Street, right? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Well no, I'm sorry. 17. Some other woman is talking next to me but it's 17, 1-7 Ware Street. 911 OPERATOR: What's the phone number you're calling me from? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I'm calling you from my cell phone number. 911 OPERATOR: All right, tell me exactly what happened? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Um, I don't know what's happening. I just had an older woman standing here and she had noticed two gentlemen trying to get in a house at that number, 17 Ware Street. And they kind of had to barge in and they broke the screen door and they finally got in. When I had looked, I went further, closer to the house a little bit after the gentlemen were already in the house. I noticed two suitcases. So, I'm not sure if this is two individuals who actually work there, I mean, who live there. 911 OPERATOR: You think they might have been breaking in? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I don't know 'cause I have no idea. I just noticed. 911 OPERATOR: So you're saying you think the possibility might have been there? What do you mean by barged in? You mean they kicked the door in? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: No, they were pushing the door in. Like, umm, the screen part of the front door was kind of like cut. 911 OPERATOR: How did they open the door itself with the lock? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: They, I didn't see a key or anything 'cause I was a little bit away from the door. But I did notice that they pushed their (interrupted). 911 OPERATOR: And what do the suitcases have to do with anything? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I don't know, I'm just saying that's what I saw. 911 OPERATOR: Do you know what apartment they broke into? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: No, they're just they first floor. I don't even think that it's an apartment. It's 17 Ware Street. It's a house, it's a yellow house. Number 17. I don't know if they live there and they just had a hard time with their key but I did notice that they kind of used their shoulder to kind of barge in and they got in. I don't know if they had a key or not because I couldn't see from my angle. But, you know, when I looked a little closely that's what I saw. 911 OPERATOR: (inaudible) guy or Hispanic? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Umm. 911 OPERATOR: Are they still in the house? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: They're still in the house, I believe, yeah. 911 OPERATOR: Were they white, black or Hispanic? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Umm, well there were two larger men, one looked kind of Hispanic but I'm not really sure. And the other one entered and I didn't see what he looked like at all. I just saw it from a distance and this older woman was worried thinking someone's breaking in someone's house, they've been barging in. And she interrupted me and that's when I had noticed otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed it at all, to be honest with you. So, I was just calling 'cause she was a concerned neighbor, I guess. 911 OPERATOR: OK, are you standing outside? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: I'm standing outside, yes. 911 OPERATOR: All right, the police are on the way, you can meet them then they get there. What's your name? FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Yeah, my name is (deleted). 911 OPERATOR: All right, we're on the way. FEMALE WITNESS CALLER: Ok. All right, I guess I'll wait. Thanks."

perhaps the f'n link could add some insight! PERHAPS

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 06:57 PM) This would hold some credibility...if all polls were published ONLY in science journals. They aren't. Last I checked CNN or some various newspaper isn't a science journal under the same scrutiny. Nor are a lot of non science related administrations/sections of business/government, etc. Newspapers publish who did the poll, describe their function and give margin of error. Polling companies give the breakdown of the demographics polled, time of day polled, how they were reached, etc. THis poll didn't come from CNN. CNN and the like do what they specifically say is a non-scientific poll. "We can test that question with data from a set of surveys known as the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. CAHPS is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services that developed a standardized survey questionnaire used by virtually all health insurance plans -- public and private -- to assess patient satisfaction. Most private insurers use the CAHPS questionnaire and disclose the data to the National Committee for Quality Assurance in order to receive their accreditation. So thanks to CAHPS, we have a massive collection of data comparisons of how patients experience and rate Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance."

Honestly Y2HH what you are claiming right now can be compared to someone saying you can't believe pictures because photoshop exists.