Y2HH

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 12:55 PM) The first criminal charges over the BP oil spill were filed today. It's about time. Hopefully there are more to come.

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 01:07 PM) Thanks for the quick responses, guys. My problem is that I have a corner lot, and a decent amount of grass to maintain. The other problem is that I have a puppy, and I'm really skeptical on putting anything on the lawn, but it's so bad now, something has to be done. I've never actually done any of this before, just dealt with the minimal amount of weeds that were there. But it seems to be much worse this year, and quite frankly, embarrassing. I'll going to begin researching what you guys all recommended. Yes, be careful with the puppy and these chemicals. After you apply them, keep the dog (and any children) off your grass for a few hours, especially if you use Grub killer and weed killer. Fertilizer isn't so dangerous, and you can re-enter your lawn right after you apply it and lightly water it down. But be careful because of a lot of fertilizer is mixed with weed killer.

Adding a few pictures for reference. Those of you that hate Y2HH, don't be using Google to track me down and come kill me now. Ignore the clump of leaves that blew onto the lawn in the front there...they do NOT belong! And yes, I know I need to redo my railing.

I have a rather small yard, as my pool takes up the entire back, however, the front of my house/city front I do all on my own. I don't have a ton of grass, but the grass I have looks like a baseball field. I can add pictures later if anyone would like. I do a few things, on my own, every year. The problem I've found with landscaping services is while they often do everything you need, they do it at the wrong times of the year unless you pay them for sustained services. If you allow them to maintain everything all year (as in you pay them weekly/monthly for sustained services, they will do everything at the proper time, otherwise they tend to do it all at once and move on to their next client. 1) Aeration. Only do this in late spring/late summer, as at other times of the year, you create the perfect environment for weeds to cultivate/spread. Ideally, you want to do it off weed season, or when your grass is growing very fast. 2) Grub kill. Do this early/mid spring. I use GrubEx...requires just 1 application per year. 3) Weed kill w/Crabgrass control. Do this early/mid spring, and not the same week you do a grub kill. Early/mid spring is when crabgrass begins spreading. 4) General weed kill other various times of the year if you see weeds starting to sprout. I will either use Weed-b-Gone if all I'm looking to do is kill weeds, or Scotts Super-Turf Builder 2 if fertilizer is needed in addition to a weed kill. Fertilizer is mostly nitrogen, which is what turns grass dark green, so I only use it if I see my grass turning lighter. If you over-fertilize, you'll get brown spots or areas of weakened grass...try to avoid this as over-fertilization is one of the most common mistakes people make. 5) Thatching (or as some call it, de-thatching), only as needed. If you have more than 1/4" of thatch, you probably have too much and should remove some with a thatching rake/mower. If you don't know what thatch is, look into it. 6) Watering. If your grass gets an absolute ton of sunshine, it will need some water to prevent it from drying out. Just water as needed. You don't have to water every day like a lot of people insist on doing, however. As for doing it on your own like I do, it's easy for me since I don't have a lot of grass, but people that do would need more machinery to do it properly. For example, you wouldn't want to use a thatching rake on huge hard...you'd break your back.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 04:11 PM) Netflix Doing Just Fine Without Disney/Starz despite the optimistic tone of the rest of the article, the last line is: While it's doing "fine" without them, it would still be better off with them. I called the Netflix problems years ago when they had their locked in "introductory" contracts where the studios were trying to gauge if this sort of model would take off or not. Needless to say, it took off...and when those sweetheart contracts expired, the studios asked for MASSIVE money to renew. Netflix had such great distribution contracts for streaming/renting that I believe they once paid around 800M, in total, for ALL of their contracts combined. Today, EACH studio wants a few billion for the same distribution/streaming rights. Obviously this was going to eat into their bottom line and cause rate increases in an attempt to compensate (both have now happened). Netflix also made some strange/head scratching maneuvers in the past year, too. I've had their streaming service for a while now, and I'm on a cusp of canceling it...as it's to the point that while it's great for streaming older TV shows, the movie catalog is next to worthless now.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 05:09 PM) you googled none of them, but none of those answers are really encompassing of the questions. for example. I'm doing P90X, but my body fat is already low, so I SHOULDN'T follow the guide exactly. What if you had a client looking to put on muscle as opposed to losing weight? People DO worry about their macros. I have a girl who just couldn't do the fat shredder because she doesn't eat meat/fish. She was getting sick because almost the only thing she ate was protein powder. Not super healthy. But together we came up with a solution that worked for her. And sure the guide is set up for "optimal results" but the guide is also meant for already athletic people. after doing P90X once, I went back and adjusted all my food intake the next time I did it to fit myself better. Others have done the same. Bottom line - everyone's different. Blanket statements like the one you made just don't work. ALL THAT SAID - you can still be successful as an independent distributor for beachbody, as long as you acknowledge what it is you're actually doing, and that you don't also provide coaching but motivation. All you have to do to make money doing this is share your experiences with your friends and family and get them doing it with you. You are right on that front. I cannot stress this enough to people who ask for advice on dieting and working out. While ANY exercise is better than none, a set of workouts, depending on your goals can always be tailored to your exact needs. Not only will a tailored workout produce better 'desired' results, it will do so in a shorter amount of time. The same goes for a tailored diet to your specific metabolism, needs, etc. That said, people that 'just don't care', by all means, "generalized" programs such as P90X are MUCH better than the alternative of just not doing anything. In my experience, and I've done P90X, it's an EXCELLENT workout, but caters more to the cardio crowd than the weight lifting/strength crowd. I fall somewhere in between those two crowds...where I love a few days of hitting the weights combined with a few days of cardio type workouts, be it P90X, running, elliptical, etc.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 10:19 AM) Yeah, chains are almost always above average in their niche, however they are not nearly as close to as good as really good unique eateries. Oak Brook's best restaurants are steakhouse chains, or another lettuce entertain you spot. I can name single location places that are better in not only quality of food, but preparation and service levels. Oak Brook is a tiny, very bland, boring town. I know because I grew up right next to it. Naperville will keep you alot busier than Oak Brook ever would, inside and outside. And you keep saying you wouldnt like NYC, why dont you go there and check it out. There are TONS of areas that feel like the neighborhoods of Chicago. You seem to think people are packed together like sardines, when in fact they are generally only that way in the horrific tourist areas. Kind of like if you spent your entire Chicago trip on Navy Pier and River North. I would say NYC is the most like Chicago in terms of neighborhood's being the identity of the city. Every area is very different from the next. We agree on this. Oak Brook IS boring, BUT, it still has something to offer, such as a great concentration of stores for shopping, decent eateries, etc. And I'm positive there are places in NY that I'd love. To be perfectly honest, if it were just for a visit, I'd be sure to visit/taste some of the highly populated areas...though I *always* prefer less "touristy" stuff, if I can put this into words properly...there are ALWAYS places outside of the tourist zones that are the TRUE flavor of an area, the real gems that everyone hasn't seen/heard of/been too, and finding them is next to impossible if 1) you don't look for them because you never venture outside of the tourist zones/brochure zones, and 2) if someone local doesn't show you the TRUE local flavor. I grew up in Bridgeport, I've lived in Des Plains, and now live in Clearing. I've visited numerous countries, cities and states...but I've still not been to NY. When I do decide to go, trust me, I'll be looking for advice on places to go that I couldn't already read about in a Fromers book.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 09:44 AM) Ok, come on, it's Oak Brook. There's nothing there that you can't experience at [insert suburb here] on any given day. Throw a couple of really nice non-chain restaurants my way and we'll start talking. There is a time and a place for everything. Sometimes the chains are fine, sometimes not. Chicago is just way more dispersed than NY, but it doesn't make it inherently less exciting, it all depends on the person/people in question and what they like. I, specifically, love living in the City of Chicago, BUT, I'd prefer to NOT live in a city with a mass concentration of population like NY. I also do not care for public transportation, however, I will and do use it when it's more convenient than car travel. Yes, you can when it comes to chain restaurants...but for me, Oak Brook is relatively close and I know my way around. That doesn't necessarily make Oak Brook boring or the restaurants bad simply because they're chains...it is what it is, and for some people it's enough for a quiet day. There are a lot of chains that are better than Chicago's little unique eateries...I call food as I see it, expensive or cheap...good is good. If I eat at a unique little overpriced Chicago restaurant people rave about and *I* find the food/service lacking, it gains no points for being small or unique when I know I could have had a better meal, for less, at a chain. But that's not to say there aren't some great hidden little gems in Chicago, either.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 09:10 AM) Yeah, I mean, the Oak Brook comment is laughable, and that's coming from a dude who lives 5 minutes from there. You can see and do everything in Oak Brook in one boring afternoon. So you can eat at all 500 restaurants in Oak Brook in a single afternoon? I see.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:57 AM) I'd suggest you quit at this point. You're starting to sound like an old man with kids. While not an old man, I do have a kid.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 09:29 AM) You should stay in your basement. So far you hate crowds, hate people and are a germophobe. I envision your perfect setting to be out in the middle of nowhere away from everything unless you make an effort to drive yourself near activity. The Oak Brook comment was pretty funny though. Alot of people like big box chain restaurants, they kill in remote areas, however Chicago is much more well known for our unique eateries. I'm only a germaphobe when it comes to strange people...but I'm an avid outdoors type...I love being outside and in public places...just not overcrowded public places like, say, Great America. And I live in the city of Chicago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 09:00 AM) Contreras signed an extension with the Sox after 2005, and then spent most of those extension years hurt, so yeah, the team definitely was trying to run out the clock on him. And Peavy...yeah, we've definitely been waiting 3 years now to shed that overpaid contract. Dunn and Rios I put on that list because they'll never live up to their contracts with how far down they were last year, and last December, no one here would have supported keeping them if someone else would have claimed their contract. So yeah, for all of them, I definitely feel like they wound up on the "do whatever we can do to get rid of this guy so we don't have to pay his contract" system. Oh, and we can also add Swisher to that list, he was dumped for next to nothing so we wouldn't have to pay his expensive years too. I don't even see most of those guys as "overpaid" considering the market at the time of their signings. And injuries make this hard to account for. The only time I view a player as being a true waste is when you sign them to a big deal and they play, but produce nothing (Rios last few years/Dunn last year.). Getting injured is an entirely different thing...and has more to do with bad luck than under producing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:53 AM) From just the last 5 seasons, I've got: Dunn Rios Peavy Contreras Vazquez No. Contreras won a world series with us...so take him off the list. As far as I'm concerned he earned every dime from that alone. Peavy was injured, and oft-injured before we got him, so we knew he was a risk coming into it. And depending on what he does this year, his only healthy year with us thus far, it could very well pay off. Dunn has had 1 bad season and it looks like he turned it around, so too soon to tell. Rios, yes. But we said this from the get go he was overpaid. Vazquez, maybe...we unloaded him and I believe part of his contract was paid for us. So of the 5 you listed, only 2 can be counted, and potentially not even 2 if Peavy puts in a cy young like year. And again, I have to highlight, all of these were VERY short term "bad" contracts.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:28 AM) I care about payroll to the extent is means we can get pieces to contend in future years. To treat payroll like it doesn't matter is shortsighted at best. Not really. You care about payroll only if all of their ventures pan out...so far Rios and Dunn have not...and that's all there is too it. If they were both raking the last few years, the payroll invested in them wouldn't matter at all. And a large payroll has nothing to do with contenting in future years...ask the Cubs. I don't treat payroll like it doesn't matter if/when the right players are paid, but I do treat it with an "I don't care attitude" in that 1) it doesn't save me a dime on ticket/concession prices, and 2) payroll is always renewed in a rather short span of time. Since the Sox don't give out long term "Soriano" like contracts, waiting 3-4 years to shed an overpaid bad player isn't that long of a wait in the grand scheme of things considering how rare it is to get an overpriced bad player. We can probably count on 1 hand how often this has happened in past 30 years on the Sox...

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:17 AM) That's what Caufield and Balta have been referencing when discussing why it would be difficult to trade him...it's essentially an FU to the average fan if you move him when he finally becomes productive. Of course, if he goes back to the .500 OPS player he's been for the last season and a half, then you're kicking yourself. As it stands now, I just disagree with Balta about moving Dunn and Rios should you get the chance...this team is constructed to win IF players like Peavy/Dunn/Rios produce...coming into last year, there was optimism BECAUSE we expected Dunn to play like he is now. Simply because it didn't work last year doesn't make the idea a poor one now that it's coming a year late. We've got to shake the notion that the baseline of this team is where they finished last season, because it's not. IMHO, it's closer to where the 2010 team finished than the 2011 team finished. I understand there are some great teams out there in the AL, but to be blatantly honest, with a productive Rios/Peavy/Dunn, and the pitching staff we have right now...we're not going to field too many better teams than this one...so we might as well roll the dice with them... Exactly what I'm thinking. At this point the die has been cast...a few years ago. May as well see what we can get out of it now, because the alternative is unloading money and getting nothing in return...and that does nothing for me. It's not saving ME a dime...so I don't f***ing care what their payroll is. It's not like ticket prices are going to drop because the teams saving money...so no thanks...I'd rather keep Rios/Dunn and see what we can get now.

I'd just like to add that I don't want to get rid of "this" Rios. We put up with the crap Rios for years, and it seems like he may be turning a corner...trading him wouldn't produce much of a trade because of his salary, so instead of getting nothing in return, I'd like to keep him if this is the version of him we will be getting. Waiting until he's playing good and then trading him would make me sick, especially if he stays good and some other teams gets to reap the benefits after the years of frustration we had to deal with. I'd sooner keep him because his contract would dictate little to no return in shedding him right now.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:04 AM) true - but to experience anything outside the city limits, you do. I lived there for 2 years without a car and 3 with, and while I didn't have a car I always said "I don't need one, this is great!". Then I GOT my car and would never, never go back. Yes to this. For example, to avoid big crowds, going to Oak Brook is some of the best shopping/restaurants there is...traveling there without a car would simply take too long. That, and then you'd have to ride public transportation with a lot of dirty, germ infested strangers.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 07:55 AM) i'll tell ya the truth - i don't eat out much cuz i'm broke. but that's the other thing. a car is a necessity in Chicago. In NYC you can do everything I mentioned without one. Saves lotsa $$ I actually had just amended my post mentioning this about NY and everything being in closer proximity. To you, it would be an advantage...but I am very anti-public transportation. While it can make travel cheap and convenient, and cut emissions, it's also a hub/petri dish that cultivates the spread of germs and illnesses throughout a City. No thanks to sharing rides with that.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 07:38 AM) i feel like the two halves of the city stay really segregated. I almost never went on the south side except to see white sox games. and that being the case - the loop isn't all that exciting, and wrigleyville is wrigleyville. other than those places - where is there that isn't boring? (i do love chicago for the record, just... not as much as NYC) there isn't that separation in NYC - you wanna go to Chinatown to get the freshest seafood EVER, it's no biggie. You wanna go up to Harlem to experience some great restaurants, you can. I even go to the bronx for box-store trips like target/best buy, and for yankee-sox games. You've got the greatest entertainment in the world, the best park in the world, the best restaurants in the world, beaches, access to the whole east coast - which includes great wine-country, hiking, anything outdoorsy. Outside Chicago is just flat suburbia as far as you can drive in any direction. And there are bodegas and delis on EVERY corner. That alone kicks Chicago in the pants. There are awesome restaurants in the Oak Brook, downtown area, etc. Not to mention to numerous lounges in the City itself. Chicago has awesome museums all along the lakefront. As I said, Chicago and it's very close surrounding suburbs have just as much to offer, you just have to look for it, OR, be into that sort of thing. And for the record, Chicago has higher rated restaurants than NY...this isn't 1990 anymore. NY simply has everything in closer proximity, which in some ways is convenient, and some ways annoying because of overcrowding. I much prefer traveling an hour outside of the City to go hiking, etc...keeps the crowds to a minimum.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 07:42 AM) so we start off 9-6 and everyone says "that's not sustainable" if we started out 6-9 you'd all be saying "told you so" can't you just enjoy that your team is performing well? Hence my post about positive threads on Soxtalk.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 07:17 AM) after living in Chicago for five years and NYC for two now... Chicago's just so boring in comparison. I mean it's beautiful and clean and the people are nice. But... it's so white bread and american cheese. Chicago isn't boring at all, it all depends on your lifestyle, etc. What are you into, what do you like to do? Guarantee a lifestyle that fits it exists in Chicago...you just have to be willing to go there. It all depends on what you find "exciting". I find White Bread and American Cheese exciting, btw.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 09:09 PM) Yes. I'm glad to see things have turned around. And we own Seattle so it would be nice to come out here more than once a year. Wow, are you serious?! I didn't bother checking the schedule, I just assumed that was one of a few series there. That's really dumb.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 07:12 AM) I'd honestly pay him $6 million. I think he's one of the most valuable catchers in the league. He's never hurt, calls a great game, and gives you an offensive spark now and again (like right now). He's been THE most durable catcher in the league for the last DECADE That alone is worth $6MM I agree with this.

Theo is credited with Boston's string of success, but he inherited 90% of that team/farm pre-built to win and merely bought a few overpriced free agents to fill in the gaps. Quite reminiscent of the Black Hawks where Dale Tallon built the team, and Stan Bowman took credit for it. IMO, Theo is a fraud, and time will prove me right now that he has to do the building on his own.

When I first entered this surprisingly positive thread on SoxTalk, I thought I had entered an alternate-reality Fringe style world where positive Sox fans exist on Soxtalk.com. Then, I realized all systems were normal when the thread was hijacked by negative, anti AJ posts backed by the very solid "evidence" that, "everyone on the team respects, but hates him", and it all started to make sense again.