Chisoxfn

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 13, 2012 -> 02:16 PM) I guess I am just not a fan of Hyundai's styling...I like that Honda much more than the Hyundai...to me, the Hyundai looks like plastic..it doesn't look substantial or solid...again, it's just a personal thing. I can't stand the styling on the Sonata. Before we bought our Highlander, I looked a lot at the Sonata and was really intrigued due to the overall value. Also, when I first started looking my initial commute to work was 90 miles each way, so fuel efficiency was key. That priority changed a bit, although I still got a larger SUV that was on the high-end from a fuel efficiency perspective (outside of certain hybrids). However, I could never get my hands around the style of the Sonata. I think it is god-awful, although I appreciate others like it. On the flipside, the similar Forte, looks fantastic in my mind.

Very sad news. Thoughts are with Tommie and his family.

There is something about Northwestern that always gets Iowa. Disappointing. I was hoping for a big win against NU (and what would have been the Hawkeyes longest winning streak in the big 10 in forever). They are still a not so good team though (significantly better than before) but very up and down and defensively they are bad.

Johnson has a good arm and some nice upside. I hope we see big things from him this year.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 05:54 AM) I have no idea, but if he is a pitcher, then fine - take it the other way. There is a 0% chance he is ready to face major league hitters. Don't get me wrong, I am not against the signing, I just think the NRI to ST is pointless. He is a pitcher. However, this is a guy that would have a been a very high draft pick had it not been for him pursuing football. The fact that he could throw a fastball at 90MPH without much practice/conditioning (I realize he still throws footballs) is pretty impressive. This seems to be like a pretty smart low risk move. He clearly is older than your usual prospect, but that is perfectly okay. It isn't like the Sox are throwing him a bunch of money and physically he has some tools. The odds are low and it will clearly be a multi-year process for him to make the change (since he doesn't have as naturally as gifted of an arm as Santos) but it seems to me like a decent move. Nothing to go crazy over but something that I think is solid. You make enough of these smart sort of signings and when one pans out it is all worth it.

I would be willing to give up the 2nd round pick but not the 1st.

Solid hire.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 08:19 AM) I have one roommate working for EnY and another for KPMG (he's the one who wanted to go to NY). They were both offered 55k for an audit position in Chicago, but KPMG is well known to be the leader in salary (usually by a just a few thousand), but they tend to be the first one of the 4 to raise their salary. Deloitte is known to be the most stringent of the 4, but I have no idea actually how true this information is. I know of some slight differences such as KPMG offering more abroad opportunities, or they at least advertise it more. I just feel that a raise from 55k to 57k is ridiculously small considering the cost of living differences between the 2 cities, and that probably pays just for his relo in the first year. I know EnY gave their summer interns fulltim offers a signing bonus while the winter interns that worked right before them didn't get one, that would piss me off as a Winter intern considering they worked during busy season. The winter interns also get paid overtime so it isn't all that bad. Deloitte tends to be the conservative of the group, however, there are major differences in certain areas and everything depends on city. For example, PWC is the slowest promotion path to senior (and I believe mgr as well). I don't speak of KPMG at all (never once did I consider them; I have a very poor opinion of them but that is just me). EY is a very solid firm. I believe they pay slights above Deloitte (in some regions as you move up) but Deloitte offers more vacation time (I'm at 30 days of PTO + 10 holidays). My decision process was always between Deloitte & EY. But those are also the 2 largest in my area (Deloitte being the largest where I live and also the largest globally). As far as international experience, I can't comment on other companies but I know I'm personally looking down that road and Deloitte provides tremendous opportunities (both domestic and abroad). The one I'm looking into is an international one. You have to be a strong performer (highly rated for 2 straight years) and you can sign-up for one as early as a 1st year senior I believe.

The Grey was decent. Had high expectations and was a little let-down. Thankfully I was using movie passes. Enjoyable movie but one that you can most definitely wait for redbox.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 6, 2012 -> 07:32 AM) They seem to be the only companies that won't change their offer at all. They just told him it was competitive and that was it. I would expect at least a 10% increase in salary between the Chicago offer and the NY offer, and at the least help to relocate. But apparently the Big 4 thinks that if you have better offers elsewhere to just go with that instead. I'm just happy I'm not going into accounting. I am surprised they didn't give him a cost of living adjustment. I know the New York office pays the most of any in the US due to the COI. Chicago is pretty high as well. However, they stick to the "competitive" offer as I think the big 4 firms must have some sort of secret agreement that they all stay within the same price range. Plus if any one firm jumps and offers something, the others follow. About the only really unique thing any of the firms has to offer is Deloitte's launch of its University in Dallas (freaking state of the art) . The place is like a 5 star resort. Its unbelievable. I assume all of the other firms will relaunch "Universities" as well.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 5, 2012 -> 07:52 PM) Yea I'll be living at home for the first few months so that I can save up some money for an MBA, so I won't have to get acclimated or anything, I can just jump right into it again. I really wish I could travel but when I graduate I may have enough for a domestic trip but not an international one (which is what I want to do again). Also, for those that worked for the Big 4 accounting firms, I know Chisoxfn currently is and or at least started at one (Deloitte I believe?), why can't the starting salary be negotiated at all? One of my roommates interned at one in Chicago and got the highest grades of any intern there, and was personally recruited by the NY audit partner to go work for him there but he was only offered a 2k increase in salary, with no relocation package or bonus. This seems ridiculous as the cost of living can be up to 40% more in NYC compared to Chicago, so I had him send the company an email asking for more money or at least some support to move out there. They declined and he just took the Chicago offer instead. It just seems ridiculous for them to do that. Yep. I'm a Manager at Deloitte. Without putting too much out there, since I am part of management, I'll say it has always surprised me how unwilling the firm is to really negotiate with people. However, the reality is, the massive amount of strong candidates that we find on a year to year basis is pretty ridiculous, so the Big 4 firms just have a huge advantage. It is so big that they really don't have to roll out the red carpet for just anyone person (e.g., pay someone 10K more). The one thing I would point out is that the people you recruit that are the top candidate (consensus everyone loves at the top) don't always work out to be the best professional. I think that is the other major issue, you just don't want to pay way more when in reality, you have no idea how much better one is than the other. Especially when you know the top people in the accounting profession are going to be fighting for the spots at the big 4 firms. The overall backgrounds of everyone we hire is very very impressive. It isn't just grades, albeit, everyone has exceptional ones, it is the internship's (and other professional experience), combined with the various community service and on campus leadership positions as well. I thought when I graduated 5 and a half years ago, that my background was pretty solid (3.75 GPA, 4.0 in Accounting, Officer in the Honor's Accounting Fraternity, Internship experience, and founder of Soxtalk). But when I interview, I end up meeting tons of candidates with similar backgrounds and plenty who I'm just left speachless at. I think on the IT side, its a little different and there is some more room for negotiability there (especially when you come in as an experienced consultant) but for entry level they are going to keep everyone similarly in-line until your performance earns the merits of larger increases. You don't make a ton of money starting but the raises tend to be pretty good (there are some years where you get as much as 20%). Albeit with the recession things changed a bit, but I'd recommend it to anyone going into accounting. Big 4 opens a lot of doors, especially if you can hold in to manager. Obviously if you make partner, the pay is great (avg pay around $850K) but that isn't easy and it isn't a life I envy (lots of stress, pressure, hours, etc).

Congrats Zach. Awesome news!!!

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 04:16 PM) Not surprised, but having ESPN on your resume Im sure is a huge step for them getting other jobs. I'm assuming its like a lot of top companies in their industry. They have the power so you will work long hours and get warned out and feel underappreciated. However, the doors opened as a result of that opportunity can be well worth it.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 09:34 PM) Bad loss by Minnesota tonight. Big 10 is looking like a 7 bid team conference now. Iowa hasn't been near as terrible as they have in years past. Still a little inconsistent but they now have 4 conference wins. Including wins against Minny (twice), @ Wiscy, and against Michigan.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 10:55 AM) Seeding is pretty damn important in CBB considering it all BO1 instead of extended series. Obviously, you want to position yourself to be playing those garbage teams while others don't. To an extent sure. But if you are good and a championship caliber team, you are going to be seeded in the top 6 or 7 and at that point you should have a good chance. If you aren't, quite frankly, you probably aren't that good of a team either way. It isn't like we are talking about home-court advantage, etc.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 10:47 AM) Um, no. How is it that important. From a seeding perspective? For pete sake, most any half decent team will make the tourney, as will plenty of garbage teams.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 09:09 AM) Then lets judge the NBA on watching Detroit and Sacramento play. There are a lot more mid-conference team's than Detroit's & Sacremento's. Irregardless, I say to each their own. I like NBA > College, but that is just my opinion and I'm not going to bash anyone for thinking differently. If I went to a school that had a great college basketball team, I might have a different opinion myself.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 08:48 AM) Way to ruin a thread, j4l. I wonder how much college basketball you've ever watched. Nobody in their right mind would say that the college game is more skilled than the NBA game but there are plenty of reasons why people enjoy the college game more than they enjoy the nba game. Also, people need to stop saying that the talent level in college is down every f***in year. There are a few teams this year with elite level talent and if you want to watch good basketball watch some of the mids, this is the deepest class of mids we've had since I've started following college hoops. I think the heart, intensity, and fan involvement is a huge part of what makes college basketball special. And I do think there are some teams that are good, but when you watch a couple middle of the conference teams play each other, the overall level of basketball isn't that great. It is other reasons, in my opinion, for why you watch.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 08:21 AM) The first 40 minutes of every NBA is pointless. The regular season drags on and on and on. I gave up on the NBA when the Soncis were stolen and have not missed it one bit. And the regular season is that important in college basketball? For pete sakes anyone with an even remote chance makes the tournament. Sure, seeding matters, but it isn't that big deal. Regular season's in all of the sports that have larger playoff sizes tend to be less important, but I enjoy sports and it is good to have a log enough season to prove the above average teams from the not so above average. March Madness is tremendous but I really can't stand watching some of the games I see. The talent level and overall basketball play is not very impressive.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 08:15 AM) It comes down to one thing. Can Manning win you a Super Bowl? If the answer is yes, then you have to consider it. That is something for the team that trades him to consider. The problem is if the Colts are going to trade him, they can't make the trade by the time his bonus comes due and thus, the Colts would be paying the $28M bonus vs. the acquiring team. So basically the Colts would be paying 28M for a 1st round pick (or whatever they get via trade).

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 06:54 AM) College basketball, to me, is far more entertaining and enjoyable to follow than the NBA. And it's not even close. I can't agree. I think the tournament is incredibly entertaining and I enjoy watching the game but the quality and level of play in college just doens't compare to the NBA. And that is coming from someone who thinks the NBA has a lot of quality issues.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 06:20 AM) If I had $40 million in cap space, I'd absolutely risk that. I'd probably try my darndest to sit down with Manning and renegotiate part of that deal, which he might well do because he'd be aware that having his whole bonus hit the cap that year would hurt any chance he had of having a winning team around him. But if I'm again, the Jets, and I had to cut the Sanchize and give up a first and a conditional pick or something like that to put Manning on my roster, it happens. It isn't cap space though, we are talking about real money, if I'm not mistaken. Would a team pay 28 million for a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick? I'm not sure. I think I'd rather just use that money on free agents (or stash it until the team is ready to contend again).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 02:32 PM) I think that's a bit harsh. No matter what he did he would be criticized for it. There was literally no ending that would have been satisfactory for as much build up as that show produced. I'd also disagree with the hack assessment. If he was a hack other people would be able to copy what he does successfully. Far as I can tell every Lost-style show since Lost has failed pretty miserably. Edit: Though I guess to be fair, even a show like Fringe, which he produced and wrote and co-created, has been pretty successful. Lost was a great great television show. No matter what people would have been dissapointed given the great build up. In regards to Fringe, he's done a tremendous job. Alcatraz (albeit I haven't watched this weeks episode) is an entertaining show but so far it has been more of a CSI show involving Alcatraz. If thats the case I probably won't continue to watch it, however, I'll give it a few additional episodes to create some sort of back-story.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 08:00 AM) Oh I wasn't referring to Emery as having anything to do with the Pats...I was responding to the other posts about the Personnel guy we interviewed from the Pats. As far as Emery goes, I know very little about him other than what has already been discussed. My bad. I figured we were talking about Emery since he mentioned the "Patriot Way" during his press conference.

Shack. Talked to them yesterday. Sounds like you are pretty out of luck in terms of what an in-store branch can do. She said she would have been able to waive/reverse your fees, however, once it hits collections, they (meaning the instore branch) lose any ability to assist there customers. Basically she said it is up to whomever you talk to at customer service.