YASNY

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 11:07 AM) Then why do hybrid sales double every year (or nearly so)? And why do companies like LG and Kyocera (not American companies, by the way) keep selling more and more solar panels? Shouldn't oil have bought them by now? I do see what you are saying, and I agree that they are doing things like that already. The larger scale, higher cost of entry stuff like wind power, geothermal, etc., they own a lot of the patents for. And those markets have too wide a moat for little guys to get in. But all these other areas, other players are already in it. And not just a few, and in some cases, they are larger corporations, just not oil corporations. I think the market is too big globally even for big oil to effectively squash all these changes. They'll try, no doubt, and that will slow it down, costing us all trillions of dollars and more than a few environmental problems. But ultimately, the market is just too big and too powerful now, in my view, for them to really stop it. Just wait and see, NSS. It been happening for decades and I don't see it changing soon. You do make very good points, I'll give you that. But history speaks volumes my friend. Don't forget that.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 11:04 AM) Best post in the Filibuster ever. I'm not kidding, either. I call 'em like I see 'em.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:55 AM) I'm betting big oil holds on as hard as they can, but I'm also betting that the free market economies in this and other countries force the issue. And mind you, big oil is OK with that in the long run - they just become big energy instead of big oil. Oil is more profitable, but once its obvious that people are buying hybrids and putting solar panels on their homes, they'll see the writing on the wall - because at some point in that demand rise, it will actually become MORE profitable to provide alternatives. IF big oil is able to crossover to big energy, then maybe. But at $100 a barrel, big oil is going to continue the status quo as long as possible.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:53 AM) I think we WERE stuck in the status quo. Gas was still too cheap, and so was energy, to motivate the markets. Now that is no longer the case, and that to me is the tipping point in all this. Plain old pocket money. People are tired of paying what they are paying. And I think solar, wind and other energies are in fact very realistic. For solar, the big use won't be giant fields of panels - it will be distributed use. People will put them on their homes, which will give them some, most or all their energy needs. Its like the chained super computers. spread it out, the impact is small individually, but as a whole does huge changes. You have more faith in the open market than I do. Personally, I believe the market is all controlled and if someone comes up with an extremely cheap alternative way of producing energy one of two things happen. 1. They sell out to big oil and the new source of energy is quashed due to patent rights. 2. Or ... they die.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:49 AM) I'd disagree, for a few reasons. One, as with virtually all new technologies, the cost of production will decrease over time. Two, car companies are starving for money, and they will want to be competitive, which will mean hybrids, fuel cells, electric cars, etc. Three, the Japanese companies, who are leaders in this area, are already well on the way to the next gen hybrids, so they don't seem phazed by big oil. And the American companies will have no choice, if they want to survive, but to compete. Fourth and finally, if the car industry makes the prices too ridiculously high, you will embolden an already-existing cottage after-market industry for converting cars to hybrids. That ultimately takes money out of the pockets of the big car companies, and they won't have that. I think that there are too many forces at work here against the car companies squashing these technologies. People want it too much. That wasn't true 10 years ago, but it sure is now. I have to say that you make some very good points. Yet, history teaches me that no matter what is discovered that puts big oil at risk has not been allowed to flourish. We'll have to see, but I'm betting big oil wins out in the long run.

Typical ... the Dems have been screaming about Cheney for 6 years and one them finally has the gonads to bring it up and the rest of them cower from the issue. They are all in this together, Dems and Reps, and all this bitterness between the parties is just a smokescreen to keep that American people polarized so we don't realize that they are screwing us all royally.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:38 AM) The $3.00-$3.50/gallon gas is the tipping point and that makes all the difference. I wish the wait to buy hybrids wasn't as long as it is, because that will cost the industry a lot of motivated buyers. And as demand increases, they'll raise the price of hybrids to where it no longer makes sense to go that route, keeping the oil companies well oiled, so to speak.

Honestly, I don't know about the financial aspects of this. But it just seems like every time I hear of a good idea that really makes sense for alternative energy sources, that's the last I ever hear about it. I don't know much about the details of the following, because I was very young or not conceived yet, but I' have heard some of the elders in my life talk about the Tucker car and a carborater the would keep 100 mpg back in WWII. The oil companies and their cronies seem to be able to quash any kind of advancement that would reduce the need for oil out of the equation. Corn based biofuels, wind power, solar power ... those are what they put up as 'alternatives' but realistically they aren't serious alternatives for anything. They use enviromentalists to quash nuclear power alternatives and to also keep use from building refineries and drilling for oil in Alaska or off the Florida coast. So that leaves us with Middle East or Russian oil and natural gas. In other words, stuck in the status quo.

NSS ... you're analysis is the first one I've ever seen that shows it make sense to go the hybrid route finacially. Maybe, just maybe, things are changing for the better in this area.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 7, 2007 -> 09:24 AM) At this point I'm not sure who the hell will take him for the ridiculous amount he's asking for. BTW, Tom Hicks will now be mailing Bora$$ Christmas cards again. I'd guess he'll end up in Detroit.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:05 AM) Mike Cameron was a product of our system, right? Yeah, he was. And he was traded for Konerko. I missed that one. Thank you.

QUOTE(palehose23 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 03:52 AM) For all the people who want to watch the youngsters develop remember this fact. Only 3 players were drafted, cultivated in the system, and played on the 2005 World Series team Aaron Rowand Joe Crede Mark Buerhle all the rest were thru trades and free agency. GET MIGGY C NOW!!! Add to that Freddie Garcia ... as a result of the Olivo, Moore and Reed deal. The farm system produced Freddie, so to speak. Then add Pods and, hell I forget the pitcher's name now for Carlos Lee. Then add Iguchi, AJ, El Duque from the money saved. The farm system 'produced' several key members of the '05 team.

QUOTE(Steff @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 09:47 AM) And it got them soooo far in the playoffs, didn't it? And to clarify... "the Sox are going to go into rebuilding mode". If they are going to do it, they need to do it right. Start trading the established players right now for good, very good, prospects. Don't half ass it.

QUOTE(knightni @ Nov 5, 2007 -> 03:25 PM) Indiana Jones and The Belligerant Druggist, no doubt. Nice!

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 09:43 AM) The disssapointing thing to me with the management stance is they say on one hand how they will spend the money to make the team a contender, but on the other hand won't keep our own established players, who are as good as anyone on the FA market, if not better and let them walk or trade them for a bunch of lower minor league talent. I think we have a winning ballclub with who we have and add some folks in the bullpen. We can sign a FA for CF. We just resigned Uribe. How can you say that?

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 09:36 AM) French poodles. Friggin' surrendermonkey dog if ever there was one. I despise poodles.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 09:40 AM) Matlock!! Where the hell is Matlock??! Matlock? ... No. More like Sheriff Andy Taylor.

QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 08:17 AM) When are they allowed to talk about contracts? November 13 I believe.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 09:21 AM) Knowing those two, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a backroom deal involved.... like maybe picking an ultraconservative as a VP running mate. Do you really think Robertson has that much clout now?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 7, 2007 -> 02:27 PM) I can't speak for BS, but from my perspective, ethanol in the current US iteration (which is corn ethanol) is at best a bridge technology, and ultimately shouldn't be the way to go. Corn is just not energetic enough, and by the time you process and create corn-based ethanol suitable for vehicle use, you've used as much oil as you tried to avoid anyway. The better choices are hybrid or electric cars, and as for bio-fuels, they need to advance the use of more energetic substances like switchgrass and sugarcane, and further, setting up greenhouses for things like algae (saw an article about an algae farm, apparently algae is teh awesome for fuel generation and growth cycles). I read an article several months back. It described a process for cleaning sulfer out of the emissions from using high sulfer coal. The way it worked was that the smoke from the coal would be filtered through algea before being released into the atmosphere. The algea supposedly thrived under these conditions and and therefore replicated like yeast does. Then the algea was to be used to produce biofuel. I guess it made too much sense for it to get consideration as a possible alternative energy source, because I haven't heard anything about it since.

Robertson's being a weasal and selling out his own convictions. Instead of endorsing who he thinks the best Republican candidate is, he's endorsing who he thinks has the best shot at keeping the Dems out of the White House.

Talk about a bunch of uptight people! Life would be so much less stressful if you remembered these words. Don't sweat the small stuff.

Thanks for the kind words folks. Very much appreciated. Of course, of all not to come into SLaM I skipped it yesterday.

Led the AL with 26 saves. Those were the days when a save really was a save, as opposed to now when a save can happen when you win by 30 runs.

I never would have guessed Paulie was at the top of that list. I would have guess Big Frank or Dick Allen.