Y2HH

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 25, 2011 -> 09:09 AM) That's what I am waiting to see. With the way it is going, I wonder if we will see many just sent to Afghanistan or whatever Baracks war of the day is... I just want to make sure it's not the same math Rham used put "hundreds of police additional" officers on the streets of Chicago. When all he really did was move them from tactical/special units to 'beat'...which is an actual net gain of 0. I'm tired of this country funding wars it cannot afford, and has no business being involved in. With Saddam and Kadafi gone, that place will STILL continue being a bastion of crap...and more people such as bad (if not worse) will rise up and take over...and round and round we go.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 25, 2011 -> 08:54 AM) Just did some math to check. If you're at exactly 5.00% right now, and you have a mortgage for ~$165k, and you can refinance your way down to 4.2% (sorta close to where things are now), and both are 30 year fixed...then you save yourself ~$30k in interest over the full lifetime of the loan. That's not enough to refinance, after fees and closing costs up front. They say the refi has to take off at LEAST 1 full % to matter. It can also be a pain to refi, for example I'm currently at 5.25%, and there are a lot of headaches involved in doing it, not to mention fees, closing costs, etc. Add to that, you're re-extending your mortgage to 30 years again, which sucks...even if it saves you money over that span of time. the problem with saving 30k over the span of 30 years is...well, that'll probably end up not being much considering inflation.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 25, 2011 -> 08:23 AM) I'll go with... less than it was a few years ago. I just don't know how much less, and the problem is, I don't want to spend a few hundred dollars getting it reassessed for no reason.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 01:51 PM) It probably would have been very bad for the region to just yank troops out and say "good luck!" It will be very bad for the region anyway. So I have to agree with BS on this, it's a political play. Also, I'd love to see how many actually come "home" vs how many are simply redeployed elsewhere in that "zone".

QUOTE (lostfan @ Oct 25, 2011 -> 06:57 AM) I did none of the above. The only thing I did was buy a house about 9 seconds before the market blew up in my face. I did the same thing, but I haven't had my house reappraised in the last few years, so I have no idea what it's actually worth anymore.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 24, 2011 -> 05:31 PM) A significant number of the people who signed up for the HAMP program weren't in danger of foreclosure until they entered the program either. Just be real careful on this one...there's no reason to trust the administration to set this program up well right now. Don't rush into it. How did this program take people that were in no danger of foreclosure and force them into foreclosure? This makes no sense to me. If they had the money to keep paying, how did anything "force" foreclosure? The only way you can get foreclosed on is if you don't pay your bills...what was this, some sort of program where you paid your bills and they foreclosed anyway? Something sounds fishy with this...sounds to me that people stop paying bills or ran out of money to do so, and were then foreclosed on, despite entering this program.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 23, 2011 -> 09:37 AM) this was the biggest reason I switched to Verizon Of my back country dealings, I've had better luck with AT&T than Verizon, but I have seen areas where Verizon worked, and AT&T didn't. I've just run into more situations where AT&T worked and Verizon didn't. That said, these sorts of issues on either AT&T or Verizon are soon to be a thing of the past. A few more years and I'm sure there will be no areas in the US where you cannot get signal (outside of Alaska).

I don't venture into the sports threads much anymore for many reasons -- but when I did I happened across a random post by Real -- and after seeing his signature image/quote, it compelled me to come to the Boxing thread because I just *knew* he'd have had something incredibly biased to say about the previous Mayweather fight. And wow, I was not disappointed by what I read. It was like going through a wormhole of bias so long in order to arrive to this post...I feel almost drenched in a film of sticky vile bad bias that I just have to respond. First and foremost, I'm a boxing fan, and have been for many many years. I have no favorite when it comes to Mayweather/Manny, I simply want the fight to happen, because boxing needs it. Boxing, in and of itself, is what I'm defending with this post, because boxing is near death due to the politics people like Mayweather employ (just one in a crowd of them) to keep themselves at the top. Others who have made such requests : Late 90's Crappy Tyson, and Bowe, who were both on the slippery slope of imminent failure. First, some of the bias on display by said poster is beyond absurd. I get it, you love Mayweather. You disguise boxing smarts with the simplicity of going over what a boxer "tends to do" in highlight reels, yet you skip over every other nuance of a boxing match, because you didn't even realize it happened. Fact is, everything you point out is *so boxing basic* that anyone and everyone can point out the same thing(s) without an ounce of knowledge. The problem is, if you know these things, SO DO THEY, and they -- as professionals -- train differently for each individual they fight. I believe you know more about boxing than your posts have shown, and I believe if you were speaking about anyone OTHER than Mayweather, you would be a bit more even keeled. If he [Mayweather] was so great, and could beat Manny so easily, as you've shown to believe in what has to be the most biased/worst way possible, than why has he continued ducking him for so long? Oh, and don't let my words be misconstrued, either...obviously you don't get to Mayweathers position without being an exceptional boxer, beyond exceptional even. But Mayweather needs to step up here instead of doing what he's doing, especially after that last debacle of a match that gave boxing ANOTHER black eye it didn't need. You can remain in denial all you want, but as a fan of what boxing once was, that fight is/was a joke...and did nothing but further tarnish the shell of a sport it is today. I know...I know, you'll mention the "non standard blood test", that Manny finally agreed to take to remove any/all excuses Mayweather continues to come up with and I also know you'll claim he didn't agree to take the test despite the fact that he eventually did. Also note, the test request is unreasonable and TOTALLY nonstandard across all governing bodies of boxing. As I mentioned above, Crappy Tyson and Riddick Bowe made similar requests when they were ultimately facing opponents they didn't think they could defeat. This is a clear indication that he's trying to do anything he can to "duck" the fight. The boxing commissions ALREADY have standard tests in place, albeit antiquated, they're the governing bodies...and if THEY [The Nevada Athletic Comission] want more stringent testing, then they need to start employing it across the board. Mayweather should have no right to request special tests while fighting in their league(s). Further, how come his other opponents didn't need to take these "special tests"? Just because FMJ "thinks" an opponent is cheating isn't his business, it's the boxing commissions business. That's what those commissions exist for. And if it's not...then why do we need them? This highlights an era in which the commission has little to no power over the boxers it oversees...and absolutely no REAL power in setting a contenders list. It's funny Manny continues to be allowed to fight by said commission...so long as he doesn't fight Mayweather. Because apparently Mayweather requires "special" treatment. In the old days, Mayweather would have fought, or he would have been stripped of his title and ranking. Today, he's congratulated and defended by people like you and the commission while the sport suffers. And it's sad. The actual answer as to why he won't fight Manny without these special requests is because he stands a VERY good chance at losing...and he knows it. And he knows that the longer he delays it the more money he can potentially make if/when it happens, and the excuse builds that he just got too old...so it's ok that he lost. Maywether represents everything that's wrong with the sport as we know it today. But don't get me wrong, Mayweather is not alone in this, he's just another using up the last few ounces of boxing good-will to the fans that the sport has left. Whether you want to admit that or not, I don't know, nor do I care. I, personally, don't know who would win, I just know I'd love to see the fight before it's too late to matter. Don't make excuses for the guy just because you love him. I have no favorite for this fight, to be perfectly honest...because I've always been a fan of the heavyweight division (or lack-thereof these days), but that's besides the point. If he's so damn sure to win, why not just get it over with, take home the huge payday and tell the world, "I told you so!". The entire world of boxing knows what a joke [his] that last fight was, and the fact you sit here trying to defend it reinforces you're complete lack respect for what the sport once represented. Was it illegal? No. Was it a total bingo hall bush league shot? Yes. And anyone that says otherwise probably hasn't seen a good boxing match...ever. Mostly because they're nearly impossible to find these days. Maybe we should rename him Mayweather Spider Rico.

I'm not sure whether to congratulate either of you...or not.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 10:54 AM) I don't put you in the RedState "53%" category fwiw. I don't know how you cannot have an issue with income inequalities while at the same time being sympathetic with their movement, though. It's kind of hard to explain without an in-depth back and forth conversation...but I do. I'd be able to explain my position better in person than on a forum. I think the big thing is this isn't cut and dry like the "99%" try to make it sound. I'm sure if they did better in life and were in my position, they'd probably view this from the sideline I'm standing on, versus the one their standing on. Now, the complex part comes into why didn't they do better? Was it because of social circumstance? Or was it because they were drinking and getting laid in high school, and decided partying was more important than thinking about their futures? I don't know. Each case would probably get a different reaction from me in terms of my being sympathetic to them, or not being sympathetic at all. The way they make it sound on the streets is that it doesn't matter what their stories are, they should all be making the same amount of money anyway. Are *some* CEO's and other executives pay out of order? Sure. Does that mean I believe they should be forced to share it? No.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 10:06 AM) yabut plenty of people do work 15 hours a day just to get by, not live a relatively comfortable middle class life. That's the message in these 53% pics, "my life is so tough," but it's some sort of a defense of our large and growing wealth/income inequalities. And they are free to consider themselves part of that "99%". That doesn't mean I have too. Some people have an issue with the income inequalities. I don't. I simply have a different opinion, maybe based on different values. But whatever the case may be, it doesn't make me stupid, nor does it make me "brainwashed" by the rich. I guess I just don't dwell on the "unfair". Is it fair that someone like Paris Hilton was born to the right parents and is, because of that, a billionaire? Some people think so, others don't. Personally, I don't think fairness has anything to do with it. What I find annoying is that I sympathize with their movement, and I'm glad I live in a country where such protests are fairly peaceful, versus other nations simply shooting live rounds into the sea of protestors. The part I find annoying is that when I share my opinion in that I don't agree it has anything to do with fair, and that I'm fine with what I have, that I'm called "dumb" or "brainwashed" by the 1%, as if it was their right to pass such a judgement.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 09:38 AM) I already explained to Balta that those first two were drunk posts! It's someone I know from other internet forums The message in both of his letters is addressing how every one of these "53%" letters is a list of how s*** their life is and how hard they have to bust their ass just to get by, teetering on the edge of disaster if just one thing goes wrong, and that these are somehow supposed to be a defense of or support for our current economic situation. It's meant as a response to the "99%" stuff (which may or may not be a good slogan), but I'm baffled by how easy it seems for the "1%" to pit the rest of the 99% against themselves. Well, that's pretty easy because many of us don't see the 99% in the same regard. For example, I'm happy with my middle class job and my middle class life, and I'm doing well enough to support my family/bills/mortgage on a single income with no debt -- so while I'm not a part of that 1% -- I'm perfectly happy where I am. I live within my means, and I'm happy doing so. So, in short, I don't want to be lumped in with the 99% who believe they're being treated unfairly. As far as I'm concerned, they can stop "assuming" that I want to be classified as a 99%er along with them as I find it to be arrogant presumption. That's why it's so easy to pit the "99%" against each other. And no, it's not because the ultra rich have "brainwashed me", because I don't see it the way the rest of the "99%" movement does. Perhaps it's because I feel I have exactly what I deserve to have, and that the amount of work I put in to get it makes sense to me. I KNOW I could have worked harder, I simply chose to live a quiet life, get married, and concentrate on my family versus working 15 hour days in an attempt to be "rich".

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 08:05 PM) The 3G can be had free with contract now...any chance that's the idea? They probably never looked into such demographics, as it says 4S, which isn't free. I don't think it matters anyway, most people have cell phones be they rich or poor, the poor simply tend to not upgrade them every cycle or have them for every single family member.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 07:57 PM) I'm now positive that you did not get his point. And I'm positive there is no point in talking to you, but I still do. Honestly, it took me until just now to realize it was the same person holding up those pictures since 85% of one of those images is a piece of paper and you can't really see a face. You're post make it sound like you found two random pictures as perfect examples of what you felt both sides were saying. Thanks for making that so clear by using 2 separate posts, after the other 50,000 posts I've seen on the internet of people holding up similar pictures at that time, I kinda stopped looking at faces just to see what retarded s*** they had to say. Probably why I didn't get the point from the get go, and the subsequent 50 posts you made where you could have easily cleared it up instead of being that douche we all knew in 4th grade that points and laughs at you when you don't get a joke rather than f***ing explaining it. So in short, thanks for making me feel like the other douche everyone in class is now laughing at.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 03:06 PM) "outdated" seems a bit much, but that's the nature of all of this technology. The iphone 4s will be "outdated" within 6 months, if not sooner. Gotta jump in sometime or you'll be waiting forever. Admittedly though I know nothing about Android since I've been using my iphone for over two years. What's the best android phone available right now? I thought the SGII was the greatest Android based phone ever? That was like 3 weeks ago... We aren't talking about the same thing. To clarify, I'm speaking strictly about the latest model being outdated versus what you are talking about, which is technological/specs being outdated. The iPhone4s won't become "outdated" until a newer iPhone model is released, which will take around a year. Outdated in terms of pure technology/specifications is a foregone conclusion and thus a pointless talking point/discussion. Because as you know, in this regard, especially in technology, whatever you have is outdated the day you bought it. The Galaxy Nexus just replaced the SGII in terms of Samsung modeling and the Android RAZR supersedes the other 50 Motorola Android models released by Motorola this year. This is my point about too much too soon. These Android manufacturers need to start creating something that can stand the test of time as a design for more than a few months. The slight technological changes are meaningless...1.1 ghz vs 1.2, etc...yes, it's faster, but it's not a game changer. Apple's iPhone4 does not need to be updated to the 4s, and because they look the same, those with non 4s models will not feel as if they're carrying a dated phone. Apple has shown that 1 model being available is not necessary a bad thing, as they outsell most other combined yearly models. There is no need for Motorola to release 5-10 different Androids per year, considering they have to subsidize them to the point that they're free a month after release. They could make more money by creating a single great design and making 100-300$ off each one sold (on top of the carrier subsidy).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 12:59 PM) Verizon doesn't have the SG II, which is the phone I want, and they don't let you bundle an Apple/Android product in the same plan, which is what my wife would want to do. All of these companies suck. Buying a smartphone, 10 dollar extra fee just cause we can. Buying two different products? Can't have a family plan, need to have two individual plans. Activating new phones, gimme gimme more. f*** these companies. Why would you want the SG II now? Like with all Android phones (and this is an inherit problem with how that business model works), the SGII is already outdated, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0 (debut last night) has already made a phone less than 6 months old obsolete. What makes it worse is it just became available in the US a short while ago (despite being older than that), and it's already been superseded, with a better device running a newer OS. There is choice, and then there is too much choice. I'm happy knowing my iPhone4s will be top of the line for another year. Being a gadget-head that loves having the latest of whatever model gadget I have, that's a nice thing to know and one of the main reasons I can never jump on board Android. It's a shame too, because I'd love Android to become an actual possible choice for me, but as things stand, it will never be. *Android rant warning* Google, thankfully (if the Motorola deal goes through) will have tighter quality control over their devices, and hopefully slow down the unnecessary flow of devices -- I hope. It'd be nice if Google retained some sort of applicable control and started limiting the number of devices these manufacturers can release every year, because Android is beyond the absurd point of product "ghettoism". It's a phrase I apply to technology where "disposable tech" seemingly becomes "daily disposable tech" due to the over flooding of the market with devices -- and worse -- imitation devices, not to mention, despite Google's attempts, the software updates are slow coming across the board, which leads to a widespread hack market. I.E. I don't know a single Android owner that's not running some hacked variation of their OS in order to be current. To me, that's a problem. *End Android rant, hoping Google gets things together sooner rather than later*

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 10:05 AM) I am just watching the Ice Cream Sandwich announcement. Looks really solid. They kinda "Stole" how you create folders and move apps around on the screen from Apple, but that's OK. Apple stole notifications They stole the "flick to close" option from webOS, but it's nice to have. The "speed dial"/people short cut folder is an excellent idea. I really hope LG updates my G2x to ICS when it's available. They all take ideas from each other, which is good...because it shows that if one didn't exist, odds are they never would have done it that way...the competition between WinMobile7, IOS and Android are good for consumers. I'm not keen on the "face unlock" crap, however...it failed in their demonstration (good going), but it looks like something that will be easily hackable considering it's using a 2D camera (IE 1 camera) to scan your face. Such technology in security circles uses multiple cameras from multiple angles in order to get a 3d/depth image of the user, so it can verify size, shape, etc...seems like a gimmicky addon with little use if you want security (which is increasingly important today, despite people being clueless about it).

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 06:03 AM) How's that? Because different people from different walks of life will have had a completely different experience to report, be it that they were poor and made it big, or they were multi-millionairs that lost everything, or they struggled and failed and/or struggled and made it big and are now giving back. My point is, just because something worked or didn't work for 1 guy/gal that holds up some smarmy sign designed to go with or against the grain of the movement at hand, doesn't mean it will/won't or hasn't worked for another individual. Also note, *YOU IN SPECIFIC* will only agree with the ones that support your side in this, and that goes for everyone here, myself included. That doesn't mean it's right just because you agree with it. Note, however, it also doesn't mean it's wrong just because it agrees with you. You guys love to say/use the word "anecdotal", well...each and every one of those signs these self-obsessed morons taking pictures of themselves holding for a few minutes for "Internets fame" are all anecdotal. Scratch that. My point is, these signs are dumb. All of them.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 11:41 PM) Ok, well yeah, the one on my brothers phone is pretty dope. It's the best voice controlled implementation I've ever seen. It's pretty amazing. Well, what kind of phone and what is the software you're brothers friends neighbors sisters little cousins dog is using that's amazing and awesome? I'm sure others here would like to use it if it works that well and is available on their platform, but you're being vague and telling us Apple/Siri is meh, because this technology is old with no details.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 08:16 PM) I think you've missed his point. No, actually I didn't miss the point at all. They're just bad points on both ends.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 04:03 PM) I used to enjoy playing poker, but then it became the cool & popular thing to do, now so many of the players just annoy me so I stay away from it. A lot of the newer players turned it into pure gambling, which is ok if you feel like grinding against them, they'll eventually f*** up on the wrong hand and you can demolish them, but who has time for that. At my peak, I'd say in the year 05-06 or so, I played higher limit tables in Vegas to get rid of the gamblers and sat at a 20/40 table. I slow played it for a few hours, mostly folding but ended up winning two notable hands, one for 2500$ and the other for like 1800$. Needless to say, they were nice pots. I soon after lost interest in the "pro circuit", aka casinos, etc...and started just playing home games. And no, usually when I played in Vegas or other places, I'd play 2/4 or 4/8 tables, and after a few hours I'd be up a few hundred. I, of course, lost a few times in my life, too...but nothing significant.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 05:12 PM) I don't know if my brothers phone has the thing where you can hold a conversation w/ the phone, but he can ask it questions, say "Text Joe: What time is the game tonight?" and tell it other commands like to set alarms, play certain songs, and all that kind of stuff. This implementation of Siri (or voice control, period) is by far the best thing I've seen, and it's accuracy is amazing in comparison to anything I've ever used or seen demonstrated to date. Do note, that Siri was a company/technology bought by Apple, and then implemented directly into iOS, so it's not just some various program running in the background, but deeply entwined into the OS itself. They've had an app out for a while, but it wasn't anything close to this. A lot of voice control software has let you say things to set alarms, load programs, play songs, and that sort of thing, but they don't work well under most circumstances. Every time I've seen someone try to "show off" their ultra cool voice recognition technology, they've had to do it under perfect circumstances, with little to no background noise, etc. Then, it gets funny watching them issue commands it doesn't understand 10 times, or it fails to do what they requested, and then they say, "well it was working perfectly for me earlier". Like, "Call Jeff...", and it says, "Calling Julie". Or, even better, when it says, did you mean, "George Mokrisky", which sounds nothing remotely close to "Jeff". So yes, there is other voice recognition tech out there, but it all pretty much sucked in real world use.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 18, 2011 -> 05:54 PM) Well, my company generally pays for this, plus I was going to get into a family plan so it would be cheaper regardless. I guess the unlimited data is cool with spring, VZW only gives you 12 gigs which seems like alot. Just keep in mind, you'll lose the ability to use data and voice at the same time off of AT&T's network. Verizon and Sprint iPhones can only do one at a time...so if you use hands free a lot, you'll lose that ability. AT&T's data is also way faster now that the iPhone 4s uses HSPA+, which is pretty fast for 3G networks. But yes, you'll have to deal with the higher rate of dropped calls...you won't have that issue on Verizon.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 17, 2011 -> 10:44 PM) An adequate response to all of the terrible "53%" pics I've seen: These are all terrible for various reasons, as everyone lives under different circumstances -- including this one.

I was skeptical about Siri, because my experience over the years using various implementations of it, the best I've seen was, under the greatest of conditions, mediocre in real world usage. But Siri, for lack of a better word, is seriously awesome. It let's you hold conversations and remembers how to put them in context... For example, Call my Wife. "Who is your wife?" Her name is X "I've matched that name to an entry in your address book, do you want me to remember that's your wife?" Yes, and call her. It then calls her, being able to put into context the "her" I was talking about was my wife. Also cool -- "What's 18% of 173.82?", and having it answer...forget needing a "tip calculator" or doing "math". You can also do things like, "Send a text to my wife saying that i'll be there in 15 minutes or so..." and it writes up the text and sends it. And keep in mind, this is just a "beta"...and it's already more polished than ANY competitors final products I've seen.