hogan873

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 7, 2012 -> 01:26 PM) It is creepy, but that is extremely cool. that is the survival instinct at its finest right there It is pretty fascinating.

Yikes! http://www.gadling.com/2012/03/06/spiderwe...urist-stopover/

The company I work with has begun pushing Lean Manufacturing, or Continuous Improvement as it's sometimes referred to so as not to scare people. Sometimes Lean is associated with RIFs and production curtailing, but we're more focused on waste reduction and improving processes. I don't have a lot of experience with it aside from a conference last year and some internal training. However, I've been designated as the coordinator for our efforts. Anyone out there have any experience with Lean or even Six Sigma? Any success stories?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 04:22 PM) Just bought this off of Ebay, and started it on Monday. You'll have trouble putting it down. I've read some long books (Gone With The Wind, The Stand, It), and I've never flown through a book like I did 11/22/63.

I've had to take a s*** in the woods twice when I was hunting. Both times I missed opportunities to shoot a deer because my pants were around my ankles.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 01:04 PM) I've steered clear of the "Hunger Games" books because I've seen them billed as being geared towards "young adults." I'm not even sure what that means, but I know I don't fit that definition. This thread, however, has me reconsidering. Is there anything in particular about them that would turn off an old fart? I thought the writing was more geared towards adults than "young adults". I hesitated before finally downloading the first book to my Kindle. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I recommend it to anyone.

I'm going with the over. I'll predict .238/31 HRs/94 RBIs

For me, Portillos has the best Italian beef, and their cheeseburgers are damn good, too. There's a smashburger in Bolingbrook, and we've been there a few times. Their burgers are pretty good, but I've had better. One place I haven't been to in a long time is Shoops. I remember their burgers being quite tasty. I think there are several locations.

I DVR'd The Firm and have been watching it for the past week or so. I'm liking it. However, unless things change, it could have just been any legal show with any characters. The show takes place 10 years after the movie timeline, and although there are mentions of Mitch McDeere's past troubles, the show is more about him getting involved in another conspiracy while taking care of other cases.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 06:15 AM) Fox cancels Terra Nova. Creators hoping to get it on another network. No surprise there. I stopped watching it after the second episode.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 5, 2012 -> 11:42 PM) 97 million? Cheapskates. The Sox are bound to make a sizeable profit this season if the team finishes five below or five above .500 wouldn't you say? They should at least have made a strong push for Cespedes (sp). Spending close to $130 million didn't work out too well. I'm okay with the lower payroll, especially considering the team. As someone else mentioned, there's a nice chunk of potential talent wrapped up in a mere $5 million of that. Peavy is off the books next season, and KW could still make a creative move or two if things go sour during the first half of the season. I feel better about the future of the team now than I have in a long time. And if the Sox make a sizeable profit this season, good for them. Let's hope if that happens they spend some cash and start building a championship caliber team.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Mar 5, 2012 -> 09:40 AM) The flip-side is how much talent might be packed in about 5 million of that. Good point there. If you look at the amount of money tied up by Peavy (health question mark), Rios (attitude and performance question mark), and Dunn (performance question mark), you realize how handcuffed this team is. Damn, I sound like greg. But, if each of those guys perform moderately well, it'll make a big difference in the team's overall performance.

I've been a fan since 1999, so my favorites are more recent. In no particular order: Konerko Buehrle AJ Lillibridge Uribe Crede

Reading the responses, it seems like there are two trains of thought when it comes to the least favorite/most hated player. On one hand you have someone who's just been a dissapointment and contributed nothing. On the other hand you have someone who just comes off as an asshole no matter what type of contribution. It would be easy to say Dunn, Rios, or Peavy (that's for you greg) because they have been big dissapointments so far. Of those three, only Rios comes off as being any sort of asshole, mainly because it seems like he doesn't care. I personally couldn't say Dunn or Peavy have been my least favorites. Rios...maybe. If you're talking about biggest dissapointments, how about Todd Ritchie, Billy Koch, David Wells, Swisher, Teahen... Now if you're talking about assholes, I can't think of many. But since I've been a Sox fan I'd say Wells, Paniagua, the second coming of Colon...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 29, 2012 -> 09:17 PM) 1.) I kind of agree. Now that Mark is gone, why not give Peavy the ball? What if he throws a Verlander-type gem? 2.) Morel is such a good fielder. If he could hit .280 with 22 home runs we'd have something for the next 15 years. That would be a great season for a lot of players. I'm not saying it won't happen, but I'd be fine with a .275 avg with moderate power (15 HRs or so). With his very good defense, a decent offensive year would bode quite well for the Sox.

There are a ton of ifs here. If Dunn has a career normal year. If Rios rebounds to respectable numbers. If Peavy is healthy. If Sale takes to being a starter. If Viciedo... If most (or all) of those ifs pans out, sure the Sox could contend. But what are the chances? Who knows. What were the chances that Dunn would have such a terrible year, Rios would Suck, Peavy would get hurt, and Ozzie would lose interest in managing? But all of that happened, so again who knows. I for one am looking forward to the season, and I'll be cheering, swearing, complaining, and cheering again.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 03:37 PM) JJ Stankevitz ‏ @JJStankevitz Brooks Boyer expects Big Hurt Beer to be sold at Sox games this year. So there's that. Anything involving beer is a good thing.

Next they'll be comparing bathrooms from stadium to stadium. At least the Cell should score higher than Wrigley. But, maybe they'd give Wrigley points for being "old school" and "rustic".

How much weight did he actually lose? I wouldn't doubt it was the 30 pounds originally rumored.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 24, 2012 -> 01:01 PM) Ozzie didn't exactly have a stellar year in '11. Sort of Rios-esque in my opinion. Yeah. Dunn had a bad year, but he was quiet and respectable about it. Peavy was hurt and was only a little mouthy...towards the end of the season. Rios and Ozzie had bad years and were both assholes. I'd say Ozzie was a little worse.

*bump* I just finished 11/22/63, and I have to say it's one of the best books I've ever read. As far as Stephen King books go, it might be his best, and it's certainly his best since It. And speaking of It, I loved the references to the story within this book.

I would say 2013. That is of course provided the world doesn't end this December.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 02:42 PM) PREACH! I don't mean to be a crabass about this, but enough is enough. Yes, the Sox lost some key pieces, and on paper they don't look as good as last year. But in my opinion, it can't be as bad as last year. I'm not expecting a playoff run, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. I'm going to follow the team, cheer for them, be happy when they win and pissed off when they lose. But I'm not going to say on February 23 that this team is going to to suck. Because if I really felt that way, I wouldn't watch.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 02:24 PM) Welcome to the return of irrelevance. This team is going to suck and steal zero headlines. I just hope that everyone on this site who thinks this way just doesn't watch any games this year. I'm already sick of hearing it, and it's not even March 1.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 10:00 AM) It's sad how little White Sox talk interests me, even as spring training is about to begin. I read almost every thread on the site, but now only around half of them in PHT. I don't read any of the "This day in Sox history" threads, stopped reading the Jim Bowden and Cuban ones, and haven't read a word from A Lot For Sox To Overcome, The Team Is Pretty Much Set, nor 5 Burning Questions. I'm not sure if it's the team that is causing this or the complete lack of anything worth talking about due to lack of moves. I didn't even read this post.