Jake

I don't think this applies to sports where most of our admiration applies to the athletes' merit, but FWIW in the field of media studies it is a pretty well regarded theory that years of movies and TV with the absence of non-whites was an alienating phenomenon for minorities. The idea isn't so much that minorities need their own "heroes" or genres (BET), but when people that look and act like you aren't given the treatment of the normal person, it is harder to drink the kool-aid of pop culture. I forget the name of the film, but because the black maid in the movie was given a somewhat developed character, the film really took off as far as black viewership -- most people look back and see that as confirmation of that theory. But...I don't think this applies to the Minnesota Timberwolves. I like Kirk Hinrich. Is it because he's white? Maybe. I love Derrick Rose. Is it in spite of his blackness? No...he's a great player and I actually think there's something really cool about him and part of it is the cultural blackness he has: the way he talks, etc.

I checked Kayak again just to see if other cheap flights have come up...but actually the opposite has happened. The very flight I purchased for 144 is now 282. Some kind of luck I have!

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 02:55 PM) I hope when hyperinflation hits, it only affects you. How do you like that? lol!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 03:56 PM) I had no idea Frank Thomas was black, otherwise I would have never cheered for him.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:51 PM) you must break her of this as I have broken my wife! I read this as: QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:51 PM) you must break her off as I have broken my wife!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 11:39 AM) how long is she going to be in town for? I've fit a week and a half's worth of outdoor cold weather work clothes, boots, hardhat, laptop and tools into a carry-on and backpack before. Until the 8th IIRC. She's a dainty one, she'll probably have a bag dedicated to just makeup, hair straightener, face wash, lotion, yadda yadda

When you choose to block someone, the things they post are not "behind your back." They are under your nose. Not to say you should be replying to them, but it isn't by any means sneaky or anything like that. Now carry on

Yeah, this is just a fun hypothetical exercise. There's no way they'll get enough support to even begin a legislative move on this stuff.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:11 PM) Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick Torii Hunter had a .389 batting average on balls in play in 2012. His career BABIP is .307 in 1,947 games. #tigers In other words, you better hope that giant jump is due to Mike Trout being on base and a HOFer being behind him. If it was just luck, you're going to see those numbers drop. Let's be real though -- Jackson Hunter (I guess they'll put him here?) Cabrera Fielder VMart That's a pretty good start to a lineup if they all play as they expect.

While I doubt it would be good if it happened (and let's be real, there's zero chance of that. The POTUS would have to go around and personally rape every wife in the land to stir up that much hate at this point), there couldn't be better states to lose, right? Texas would hurt the most, they actually contribute value to the country, even if none of it is cultural

Just bit on a deal. American Airlines from MEM to ORD to BMI (Bloomington-Normal which is closer to me than Chicago). $144 + 5% cash back on my Chase Freedom Card. I don't know why it hadn't shown me this flight before, but it was unbelievably cheap and I bought it right away. She'll probably end up paying $25 to check a bag, but who cares. So happy I don't have to spend my entire XMas gift fund on this damn flight, lol. Thanks for the help guys.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 05:55 AM) If you're not a fan of federalism, you're a communist? In America, yes...conservatives have been saying this about anything liberal since the 30s

Couldn't find my phone and decided I might not have left it in my room as per usual. Pulled up Find My iPhone and saw that it was in a common space (I work as an area supervisor in a dormitory) and then I locked it as some kids were trying to post stuff from my facebook. Boom, cool stuff

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 09:00 PM) Anger isnt very becoming. Luke 12:48 and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. From a practical standpoint, if the US was to go completely bankrupt and money was worth nothing, who loses more, the guy on the street with nothing but debt, or the billionaire? Its actually in their best interest to help fix the US economy, they have more to lose. No no no, using the Bible as backing to support policy or moral beliefs only counts when it serves the God-loving Republicans

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 08:03 PM) That right there is what's f***ed up about the Union of Socialist Republics, er, I mean the United States of Socalism, er, I mean the United States of America today. If you want to dismiss the very core of what the Constitution is about, I'll just start calling you comrade. Times have changed. As time goes on, things become too interconnected to have everyone doing things 51 different ways. I certainly believe that the Constitution, as currently interpreted by the Supreme Court and amended by the USA, is the law of the land. However, as an amendable document, I believe it needs to be changed to suit a changing world or it will just help drag down the country it rules over. States are good at running debt, f***ing up national elections, withholding civil rights, etc. People hate bureaucracy but the federal-state-local system is like the worst kind of bureaucracy in which no levels care about the directives sent out by the other. In terms of a topic by topic evaluation, how can you look at this (or others) Presidential election and not see that things need to be made uniform across the states? Obviously the states will have to carry it out, but they need to all be doing things the exact same way with the exact same rules and in a manner that provides an easily countable, trustworthy result. Right now it is a giant clusterf*** that is at least partly influenced by state-local partisanship and the other part caused by mere incompetence.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 09:42 PM) 12/27? Close to the holidays like that, there won't be a ton of deals coming. I'm trying to decide if AirTran doesn't have a flight for that day (or within 3 days either direction) or if they are actually sold out already.

Every time you let states run anything, they f*** it up. These national elections need to have national oversight and legislation to enforce it.

People are getting really worked up about the debt and they won't wait much longer for progress before just electing other people that are willing to fix it immediately instead of waiting for economic recovery to boost revenues/cut entitlements

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 04:24 PM) I wish they sold the chocolate bock by itself. 2 in a twelve pack isn't enough. I think they have it available in some alternate way. Check out their website for more details, including every place you can buy it

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 02:31 PM) That depends. When is the date of the first flight? Typically - and this can vary a lot - flight prices bottom out about 3-4 weeks prior. Then inside 3 weeks they go up, then again at 2 weeks, and 1 week. But, there is a small percentage of them that go into wholesale mode during the week before. I wouldn't depend on that, though. Our target date is 12/27 for departure (we're driving back, so it's one way) I checked my credit statements from last year and I bought a ticket on 11/30 for an 12/27 flight for $185 a year ago. Not sure if that will hold up or not. It was AirTrain to Bloomington-Normal (BMI) -- so far the cheapest I see are to MDW and not BMI via AirTran

I just can't believe that Nate Robinson can average 15 points a game for a team that will probably finish over .500

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 01:20 PM) Except those people could go on the state insurance exchanges. I talked to my dad, apparently he is pretty sure those people are just going to pay the tax. lol

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 12:14 AM) Talked to my friend who is a world renowned doctor who works on the sickest and most needy people out there and he's "ecstatic" by Obama's re-election. He said he didn't want to go into it, but basically said healthcare is going to become accessible to most of us now and we are so lucky. Just passing on what he told me. My dad runs a small business (trucking company) and has lots of employees that are earning in the range that puts them generally just out of reach of things like Medicaid. There is a company insurance plan and he offers them the chance to be on it -- they could take a small pay increase if they had their own health insurance, basically as a thank you for saving him some money. They would almost without fail take the pay increase, not buy insurance, and respond simply that they could go to the emergency room for healthcare. I think those days are over now.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 08:40 AM) Some numbers on "going over the fiscal cliff" http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2012/1...g_over_the.html He makes the case that you really should break the "cliff" up into the individual issues. Some will be relatively easy to walk back after January 1st, some will be a bit more complicated. Also, related to what ss2k5 was saying earlier: I agree that everything should be negotiated separately and hopefully some good faith agreements can be reached (you can promise to vote for this in a meeting and you will actually vote for it on the floor). I know that a separate train of thought is a much broader scale tax reform that would effectively address all these issues without directly extending them. I would be okay with modest tax increases on everyone, ideologically -- just like like paying 10 cents more for your pizza or whatever else gets your fellow man health insurance, I can certainly see why everyone and not just the top earners need to share the burden of our debt and the social programs that we all benefit from. I am not sure if it would really harm the economy, though...obviously a big part of this stuff is perception and confidence and if the prevailing news story is tax hikes, we're in trouble because people will horde their money even if they don't have to. As far as spending cuts, I am against them in principle -- if we're cutting funds to the poor, disabled, unemployed, elderly, you name it...I don't see much good coming from that. However, I have to think that there are some inefficiencies out there. Just like I don't expect the Republicans to view every single proposed revenue increase as pure evil without individually evaluating each one, I will be willing to hear the arguments for spending cuts as they come. I won't respond well to "the poor don't deserve my money!" but there MUST be some things worth cutting back on. For instance, I have a side job in the dietary supplement industry and the FDA is raiding people for having technically banned yet benign ingredients, banning even more new things on technicalities, etc. In my view, the FDA need not be spending money on that. There are probably more examples like this.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Nov 13, 2012 -> 10:46 AM) We'll be heading up to Bolingbrook this Saturday for dinner and the light show at the Promenade. And since there's a Binny's there... I'd like to find some good porters or stouts I haven't tried before. The trouble is, I could spend hours and hundreds of dollars in Binny's. A very good app I use is Beer Buddy. It's linked to ratebeer.com, and I've been reviewing beer over there for about four years. The app is nice, as you can check out a beer's info (including fellow drinkers' ratings) right on your phone. I use that too! A Binny's opened in Bloomington-Normal a couple weeks ago, I can't wait to get back home (Pontiac) to check it out.