Balta1701

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 10:24 AM) Can someone fix my thread title. I completely missed an n. Thanks for catching that Its funnier to not fix it.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 09:56 AM) My impression over the last few years was that the Constellation program was a complete disaster. The idea that a permanent moon base was a path to Mars was ludicrous from the start.

Suckerville

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 09:30 AM) Cowboy Up! Woo Woo! Here comes a title! That worked well with your avatar.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Feb 2, 2010 -> 09:22 AM) How so? They traded for some really good prospects in Scherzer, Jackson, and Schlereth. They just got younger and could potentially replace Granderson's bat with Damon's. Don't forget though that getting Scherzer and Jackson also cost them their #2 starter, Edwin Jackson. The reason why the Granderson move would make less sense is that they'd wind up with virtually zero cost savings, and they'd almost certainly be seriously downgrading from Granderson to Damon (Anyone think Damon's power won't vanish if he moves to Comerica from Yankee stadium?)

Minor league deal for Kevin Millar.

Assinippi

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 06:47 PM) You still have to assume it's going to be difficult to have Danks and Mitchell in the OF at the same time unless both develop 18-24+ homer power or Mitchell learns how to steal 50+ bags per season. Seems he's pretty raw in that aspect of his game at this point. Mitchell has one big thing going for him that D2 so far doesn't have; he's a big time OBP guy. He can take a walk like nobody's business, which is why all the prospect magazines love him so much. No one really cares if you're hitting .250 in the leadoff spot if you've got a .380 OBP because you're taking a ton of walks, you're working the count every time, you're in position to steal 30+ bases, and you hit 25 HR as well.

Square Butte

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 06:53 PM) Are these the same firemen and policemen the Clintons hired and then the states and citites had no way of paying? Let's put 200,00 more on the streets but then let the states try to pay for it when the Federal teat runs dry. Not often you hear a Republican explicitly argue "We need fewer policemen and firemen." I'm impressed.

Natural Gas, yeah, I'll agree that's a core climate solution, and it will in the end likely be necessary to keep a few natural gas plants around even after shifting to 100% renewable to meet demand at times when the weather just doesn't cooperate. Saying "there's only so much of it installed" however is not an argument for why more can't be installed right now if we set our minds to it. In particular with wind, less so but still somewhat with solar, the lack of wind generation right now is directly related to the rapidly changing regulatory scheme at the national level here; one year there would be subsidies for wind development on par with what is there for fossil fuels, then the next year those subsidies would disappear, the companies would go bankrupt and all the employees would be out of work, then the next year the subsidies would reappear again but whole new companies would have to be created to make use of them. If we really put our minds to it and put money on the order of the stimulus plan into it, we could have a nearly-carbon-free electricity generation and distribution system within about 10 years based solely on the technology we have right now. Wind power generation domestically the last few years (between stimulus dollars and a non-hateful regulatory environment in 2009 and the fossil fuel price spikes from 2007-2008) has grown at over 40% a a year for the past several years. Solar, likewise. I'm not going to directly argue against nuclear. I will note a couple things; first, the U.S. government on its own subsidizes the nuclear industry to the tune of $1 billion a year in direct cash payouts because the government promised to find a place to store the waste and has yet to do so. Even with that subsidy, nuclear power keeps having a nasty habit of already being vastly more expensive per KWH than renewable or gas generation, because the startup costs are so giant. Here's an example; San Antonio keeps wanting to install 2 new nuclear reactors, but has so far balked because the costs keep going up ($20 billion/reactor and counting). They've proposed a 10% electricity rate hike before the things are even built/on line in order to pay for them. It's difficult to get an exact price per kwh out of the nuclear industry right now, but on average, the quoted rates wind up being 1.5 to 2x the current electricity rates for most of the U.S. Renewables typically can beat that easily. There is of course one way to get around this discussion entirely and to make it much, much clearer which way is the right way to go long term. Put a significant price on carbon, stabilize the regulatory environment for everything, cut out the oil and coal subsidies, and let things sort themselves out.

Willmarryforhealthinsurance.com

Government Camp (OR)

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 05:45 PM) Yeah, a 10-year deal for anyone doesn't seem too smart to me. I understand that they probably had to go with a long contract to keep him there, but what are the chances that he's even a catcher for that length of time, let alone the very good chance of injury. The Twins probably know his medical reports better than anyone. No one would begrudge them anything if they lost him to a huge bid from the Yankees. If they're signing him now, I'll bet they believe he'll endure.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 05:30 PM) It is a good sign for baseball's smaller markets. I also think it is bad for baseball in one way. One of the best talents is in one of the smallest TV markets. Is there really that much more room for revenue growth in NY/Bos?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 05:09 PM) If it means the difference between living in a house and on the streets, I am sure they won't mind... But of course, they'd rather live on the street than have the gummint run their health care

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 04:58 PM) Yeah, and police and fire layoffs too. (This is quite literal by the way, the cutback in those subsidies is key to the "Spending freeze" they're talking about)

Gnaw bone! (I've been waiting since this thread started for a chance to use one that starts with G)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 03:26 PM) I am sure people who can't afford it will love to see their gas prices and utilities go up in price. I'm sure they happily tolerate budget cuts to their schools to pay for it.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 04:52 PM) Very good for baseball. I assume he'll be getting at least 15M per year, probably more like a 10Yr 175M deal. I'll be surprised if its that low.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 02:59 PM) True, but I think he'll have a break out year this year as long as he stays healthy. His minor league numbers will look great if he's healthy, I'm confident in that. The issue will be the transition to the big leagues for him. Big league pitchers may well destroy him if he can't make more contact.

Ninety Six

QUOTE (klaus kinski @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 01:06 PM) Isnt Abreu still out there? No, he signed a 2 year deal with Anaheim back in November.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 1, 2010 -> 12:34 PM) agreed here. Sadly, even the X-Box would think that unfair.

Intercourse