AbeFroman

This was a big story 10 years ago. This feels twice as big now.... like OJ big.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 01:07 PM) The body had no signs of drugs or alcohol, per autopsy. yeah I know... but this looks like a further inconsistency. Even if the drug tests missed something, it makes no sense to use a stun gun on someone who has been drugged.

The news reports are that this John Mark Karr admits "drugging her" and having sex with her. JonBenet's body had clear burns from a stun gun.... Why the hell would someone use a stun gun on a drugged person?! Plus, this dope's wife says he was in Alabama for Christmas in 96... I hope for the sake of the Ramsey's that this sicko isn't making a false confession. Its beginning to look more and more possible. If the DNA evidence comes back negative.... then s*** hits the fan

Kornheiser absolutely ripped Mike Golic and a guy from the washington post on Dan Patrick's show today. He said he'd gladly run over the guy from washington with a mack truck. and he called Mike Golic out cause Golic just wants his job. Hilarious... can't wait for mike and mike tommorow.

Mike Sweeney was on the pre-game show on 670... He's a class act. Talked about how he respected the white sox and all.

When you consider what Kenny paid to get Thornton (and for that matter McDougal), he's done an outstanding job improving the bullpen. Its funny... he's been really good a picking out guys who were underrated and bringing them in to piece together a solid bullpen: Shingo was extremely solid for a while; The Angels basically gave up on Jenks... So did Seattle with Thorton; McDougall's price was pretty low considering it was an intra-division trade; Throw those moves together with the Contreras-Loaiza swap, the Dye signing, Iguchi signing, and the general construction of our bench... Thats one helluva job of general managing... I don't care how bad Todd Richie was

I would say that most people expect that a house will sell between 5 and 10% less than the asking price. If they are asking 209, I see no harm in an offer that is in the 190's. In fact, if they are asking for 209, it means they probably really want about 200. I would not exactly say that 6.75% is a great rate on a 10 year interest only. I would think that lower rates are out there. Obviously, fixed is safer... I won't criticize you for taking an interest only... its simply a question of how risk averse you are. It is a more risky loan. Also, don't forget that your interest on your home is tax deductible. If you are a single taxpayer, the government will return a percentage of your interest on your tax return. So if you make > 29,000 annually, you'll get 15% of your interest back... 25% if you make 29,k - 70k, 28% for 70k to 146k and so on. If you are married, simply use the married tax brackets.

I went to the sox game monday night, so I missed all of monday night football. Can someone tell me how the new MNF broadcast crew did?

Spiderman, if you evaluate this from a broader perspective, you actually could be very lucky. I'm an attorney and part-time economist... My most successful clients follow a formula for buying that is roughly what I will write below. *** Note beforehand***The next Fed meeting (called the FOMC) is on September 20th. At that time, its possible that Bernanke will raise interest rates. *** You're lucky... in the real estate cycle, September tends to start the largest downturn in housing demand. July and August tend to be the heaviest month for buyers. The present real estate market already favors buyers... it HEAVILY favors buyer who have no home of their own to sell before closing (called a home-sale contingency). I presume since you're buying a townhome with relatively low capital, this is your first home. If you can time this correctly, you can take advantage of a favorable market. Generally towards the beginning of September, sellers are more starting to get nervous. Summer has passed, School has started, and buyers have typically found something to hold on to or taken themselves out of the market until next year. This effect will probably be exagerated this year because of rising interest rates and lower demand for housing. Given all these factors, I would take the following course of action: 1) Evaluate your real estate market. Begin prioritizing which townhomes you prefer. Know beforehand what you want your mortgage payment to be... you'll want to be certain that you can act fast with confidence. 2) Towards the beginning of September, begin to bid aggressively. Start with your first choice and take at least 10-15% of the asking price. If they want 220,000, start in the 190s's.... or even 180's. Remember that realtors are chatty... make sure you convince your guy that you know its a buyers market and are not afraid to move on to other homes. He will convey that to the seller... and that rhetoric helps you. 3) If you can't get the first choice below 202,000 (or something even lower), move on to the next house. Remember that you CAN make your offers contingent on reaching an agreement within 24 or 48 hours... this puts more pressure on the otherside to wheel and deal. They will panic, and will want to keep you happy to get the thing closed. 4) Try to have a deal in place by September 10-13th. The Fed will meet on the 20th. These means he could (and very well may) raise interest rates further. MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR MORTGAGE LOCK BEFORE SEPT. 20TH!!! In a market like this, timing can be everything! If you don't presently own, the sellers are going to much prefer to sell to you... since there's no contingency, you can use time and market conditions to leverage a good deal. You'll find that the best way to lower your mortgage payment is to lower the price... and you're lucky enough to be one of the few buyers in the last ten years who will actually hold the cards in the deal. *** Edit*** One last thing in case you already have a contract.... Those mortgage rates seem a tad high to me. One great little trick is to get three or four mortgage brokers working for you. Let them know that they are competing. When the compete, they will often offer lower closing costs and even lower rates... particularly on that 15 year fixed 15% loan. I'd even go so far as to tell them "hey, countrywide can do this for 6.625, can you go lower?" or "Wells Fargo will go at 6.5 also... can you cut your closing costs? This industry is disgustingly lucrative... They want your mortgage... and the brokers make a pretty good commission... They will knock off real dollars to make a deal happen. QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 14, 2006 -> 10:32 PM) You'll get better responses from others, but one thing I can say is if it's not fixed right now, there's going to be a LOT of volitility in the markets over the next 3-5 years as the mortgage adjusts. If you don't lock in, good luck - a short term vs. long term issue - just be very careful to not be too shortsighted. If you can't pay for it now, there's probably a reason. This is a fair point. Personally, I'm not crazy about ARM's... and even less so about no-interest mortgagess. However, I'm becoming a minority on this issue... Even Greenspan, in his closing statements as Fed chair, stated that the premium on a 30 fixed rate is too high. Essentially he endorsed ARM's as a more cost-effective means of home financing for the macroeconomic America. And ARM's and No-interest mortgages have been used in England for almost a century... and thats certainly a sophisticated real estate market... even more than here in Chicago. A ten year product is probably fairly safe. I agree with Kapkomet that 3-5 looks uncertain. With a 10 year mortgage, you give yourself the chance to refinance if interest rates appear headed for 12%... or even sell before the rate resets. So the risk is really your choice. Also... remember, if there actually is a real estate bubble, that no-interest loan could bite you in the ass. If housing values plummet, and you sell your townhouse, you could actually wind up oweing more than the value of the house. You will have built very little equity, and you may be susceptible to a loss if there ever is a devasting market bubble. But again, risk is a question of personal preference. Its all your decision.

Here's what Paul LoDuca is giving up: http://forums.leenks.com/showthread.php?t=2820 Its got a bunch of links to photos of the soon-to-be-Mrs. Paul LoDuca.

As I'm reading through some of the other responses, I agree that its important to stay friends with her, but do not stay good friends with her. Act like an acquaintance. Datings really best summed up by the infamous lines of Vince Vaughn in Swingers: You take yourself out of the game, you start talking about puppy dogs and ice cream and of course it's going to end up on the friendship tip. I don't want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone's REALLY hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you're not sure whether or not you like yet... you're not sure where he's coming from."

Here's the thing... The goal of any good break up plan is to break it up for good AND at the same time, preserve the opportunity for meaningless sex down the road. In my life, I've found that the best thing to do is to react very calmly, and try to surprise her with how little it seems to bother you. Then find some other chick to hook up with... avoid the old chick for a while, but make sure she finds out through her friends that you're on to the next one. Always be cool.... friendly, but distant. Eventually, one day in college when you're home from spring break getting loaded in you're buddies basement and she's there, you'll remember that she probably is wondering why you took the break-up so well... then add alcohol, and you'll probably nail her. As an aside, I recommend trying not to have any real feelings about a girl until sometime in the later half of college. There's no reason to let a real relationship with all kinds of crappy emotion junk tie you down when you want to go out drinking with the dudes from your frat or your dorm floor. Odds are, if you never actually date the girls, word will get out among chicks that you're a mystery... then a these dumb girls will want to be the one to tame you... figure you out. I have no idea what the hell goes on in thier minds that this happens, but its the way things work. good luck. and remember, anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.

QUOTE(fathom @ Aug 12, 2006 -> 02:31 PM) No matter how good or bad Pods is going, he still has to hit at least one ball to the first baseman per game. i wouldn't mind it if it were a bunt attempt... but its not

QUOTE(daa84 @ Aug 12, 2006 -> 09:09 AM) it would be huge for mark to step up and really get back on track and have 7-8 solid innings....ill take the QS tho with 3 runs in 6 This is exactly what you got huh?

QUOTE(GOD @ Aug 12, 2006 -> 01:50 PM) Lou Pinella is an awful announcer, up there with the likes of Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan imagine how bad he'd be if he wasn't drunk when calling the games....

QUOTE(Wedge @ Aug 12, 2006 -> 01:43 PM) What?!? ha... my bad i hope brian anderson singles

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Aug 12, 2006 -> 01:42 PM) Of all people, it had to be the 2 slowest people in the history of organized baseball on the bases for us there. ever see mo vaughn? but you're right... they abysmally slow

i hope brian anderson singles

What's the strike zone look like for Buerhle so far? I'm at work and not watching the game?

When i was in College, Scott Olsen (then in high school) came to visit at my school. He came to a fraternity party my frat was holding at an off-campus house. He drank so much he puked all over my friends apartment. A guy in my fraternity, came over, picked his ass up from the back of his belt, and dragged him out of the party. When he was outside, a few of my other friends (who didn't even live in the house Olsen threw up in) threatened to kick the crap out of him if he didn't give them money to clean the carpet. Olsen gave them 50 bucks and ran like the wind... We used the 50 bucks to get another keg. Ah... those were the golden days. I get a kick out of the fact that he's now a major leaguer... maybe one day I heckle him at a game and remind him of that fateful night.

uribe returns.... guess it didn't take long for him to go to ozzie and tell him he's ready

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 08:06 PM) I'm amazed Alex ever gets a hit with that long swing. Mike Piazza's going to the hall of fame with that swing

ugh... glad we got to see that last commercial instead of the first pitch of the inning

QUOTE(joeynach @ Aug 11, 2006 -> 07:05 PM) where is the game, WCIU is showing the insider its 7:05 what the f*** 7:35 start i guess... i thought it started at 7:05 too