Balta1701

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) Yes and he looked sloppy fat, man tits bouncing and all. You know, that can be a consequence of heavy drinking.

Now we've dragged Flaxx in!

Let's forget about the meds.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 03:54 PM) Wow, has Broxton put on about 15 lbs? I believe people complained that there was a connection between his weightand his performance last year.

I dunno, it has happened before.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 03:23 PM) sure and lets let Toby Hall play 1st base too. So we're better off if no one practices?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 02:38 PM) Furthermore, the more you do this, the more you feed the beast. The biggest reason we are so far behind on infrastructure work is that the people who have funded various projects over the years to build more roads, aren't building the long term maintenance into their math. They think they can build new roads, and worry about maintenance later. Its just really poor thinking, and we need to get away from it, including letting some roads deteriorate over time and consolidating our spending. I can't for the life of me find the details of how it works now, but in the Obama budget/infrastructure plan, there is a clause rewarding communities that use federal funds to fix existing roads and penalizes ones that construct new ones without money for upkeep.

Gonna get in trouble if you think that for long.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 01:49 PM) I, too, think Rios should be batting 3rd, but it's really not a big deal where the 3-5 is placed, this team should hit pretty well. If Rios could hit .320 for the full season, without the major slump he's had the last couple years, I'd agree, because that kind of average would push up his OBP. Right now, I'd somewhat prefer Dunn there, because Rios putting up a .320 OBP or worse for 1/2 the season while hitting in front of Dunn is something that hurts us more than it helps.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 01:22 PM) Heh. No, but I could have. I favor an oil tax over a gas tax for multiple reasons, and I think more can be done that doesn't involve new taxes... but its a pretty solid article. This is just such an obviously good use of capital, far more so than a lot of the B.S. we're spending so much on right now like the wars in the Middle East, oil subsidies, road construction, keeping Bush tax cuts for the rich, etc. Total thread derailment ahead. We're still trillions behind on infrasctructure investment in this country, including roads. The Stimulus was a pittance, on the order of 1% of what we need. We need investment in other things as well...but "Not investing in roads" is not an option. Poor road quality is a damper on economic investment in many communities. Edit: and also drives massive increases in CO2 emissions (the longer you sit stuck in traffic, the more fuel you waste)

Josh Beckett was out in RF in pre-game warmups and was struck in the back of the head by a ball. Reportedly ok. Metropolitans moving Carlos Beltran to RF.

"Thunder claps loudly outside" Balta thinks "I was caught in the middle of a railroad track...."

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 12:14 PM) Is Beckham going to be hitting 2nd? I thought Ozzie wanted to keep him lower in the lineup, which caused a lot of anger here. I'm sorry if I missed it. Link

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 11:19 AM) Its a strange moment in life when things that were staples in your childhood become history. Tell us again what writing on cave walls with charcoal was like, 2k5...

Eventually it'll happen to you.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 28, 2011 -> 10:12 AM) If your investment horizon is like a year, then yeah, I'd think a safe harbor investment would be smart. But I'm assuming that Russ is looking for something longer term. That being the case, with the eventual recovery and inflation snap back that are both inevitable, long term, I'd still strongly favor equities. Depends on whether we're using the same definition of "Long term" and how much downside risk in you're willing to absorb in the next few years. If you're talking about a 20 year long term horizon, then hopefully that's long enough that everything will shake out and the long term trends win out. If we're talking about a 5 year horizon as long term, then I'd give a different answer. We're still in the range where there has been only a small "equity premium" for more than the last decade, and P/E ratios are still in a range that is historically elevated.

As usual, I'm going to be the one who chimes in negatively on the current state of the economy. Worth noting; I'd never, ever have predicted the 2009-2010 stock price runup. To me, right now, I anticipate headwinds in a lot of sectors, in no small part because of the fact that things have run up so much. Banking has recovered some but not entirely from 2008...but there's a strong risk of another implosion since nothing was ever fixed there. Consumer goods or manufacturing...some inflation can help companies by giving advantages to companies with domestic production, but another oil shock would also threaten their sales. If I were looking for long-term growth, I'd either target sectors that I think might be able to show substantial growth in the next decade (Defense/aerospace, technology, pharmaceuticals, clean energy), or I'd simply go for short-term stability and let some of the overseas instability shake itself out while I sat contently holding US T-Bills. I can always move funds back into stocks from Treasuries at a later date.

Thankfully, this issue is not overly ideological, so I'm sure no prominent people associated with any well-funded movement will back up on one side or the other.

Don't misconstrue me posting this as an endorsement of tactics here.

Can you tell me when it was sent? I never sent that, my account must have been hacked.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 27, 2011 -> 10:58 PM) How long until the Heat get that Wade should be taking the last shot? He's a clutch player that has proven he can hit the big shot at the end, whereas LeBron's resume includes many more misses that hits in that spot. The problem with the Heat isn't that they need someone else taking the last shot, it's that they do the "superstar" thing for the last 2 minutes. They're actually too determined to give the ball to their big names. Instead of running an offense, they go into all-isolation, all the time mode.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Feb 27, 2011 -> 10:16 PM) this butler guy any good? Here's his stats.

He's shot over 40% from 3-land almost every year of his career except this one.

Rather than arrest the protesters, the WI state police has as of now allowed them to remain in the Capitol building for another night.

Dean Baker has an analysis up of the genesis of pension shortfalls since 2007. Here's a clipout of the money figure, comparing the projected 4.5% rate of return on 30 year T-Bills to what actually happened.