Balta1701

QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 07:07 PM) touche... but the first step is still coming up together at the same time I've been critical of KW and the scouting department the past two years, but they have really taken a couple big steps in the right direction. I remember I hated the Poreda pick at the time (mainly because we passed on Porcello), but I am starting to really like it (especially if his mechanics are cleaned up and he continues to develop his secondary pitches). This year's going to be an interesting year...because in addition to having our own pick in the late 20's, it looks like at the worst we're going to be holding on to 2-3 sandwich picks and an extra late 1/early 2, unless we sign a Type a FA & lose our #1. Gives us a shot at turning Uribe and Cabrera in to multiple first round level guys, if we do the scouting well. Following up a year where we got basically a top 10 pick and a top 30 pick (by spending the money on Danks), that's a really quick way to pull off a rebuild, especially given the miracles KW pulled off with Alexei and God.

Turns out they got to watch Poreda give up 3 runs in a 3rd of an inning and got to watch Slayer go 3/4 as well.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 06:44 PM) I'd be nice to see him and Danks come up at the same time. Make the all star game at the same time.

A couple authors wrote a paper for the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society taking a look at the oft-repeated claim that in the 1970s' all the scientists thought that the earth was cooling and an ice age was coming. They did so the right way, looking at the numbers of peer reviewed papers published making those sorts of predictive claims and the impact of those papers based on number of citations. Turns out, there was some cooling literature, but even then, it was being swamped by people who were starting to understand the CO2 forcing. (Link to the paper, not sure if everyone can download it or only me because I'm @ a school) And their money figure:

Haha, he calls him "Danksy" too!

Jimi Hendrix Experience's drummer Mitch Michell dies at the age of 61.

Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack's name is bouncing around as Secretary of Agriculture.

The first batch of Alaskan early votes, absentee votes, and provision votes has been counted. Ted Stevens started the day with a lead of 3257 votes. Some 40,000 or so of the 100,000 remaining ballots have been counted now, I think. If the count currently posted at the Alaskan Government page is accurate...Ted Stevens is currently losing by 3 votes.

Pinella gives a Cubs-y interview today.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) I'm really excited about this kid. If Alexei took 1.75 per year for 4 years, then this guy probably deserves 3 or so per year for 5 years. KW loves Fields, though, so I wonder what would happen. Maybe they'll start Fields OD, then if he struggles, work Viciedo into the lineup? The right way to do this is to treat it like any other signing out of a latin american country. Give him a good sized signing bonus based on what you think his performance is, then put him in your system and try to develop him from there. That way, you still get the arbitration years on him and you still get 2 picks if an when he becomes good and walks as a FA.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 01:40 PM) Besides, I don't want FMart anyway. Not as a centerpiece. Give me pitching first - starting pitching that is, not relievers because good starters have a fallback option as relievers whereas relivers have the fallback plan of Triple A - and then a toolsy CF prospect if they've got one. That's what I'd want for Jenks.less. Do the Mets have anything left of real value in the way of young starting pitching?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 01:12 PM) I guess if you mean by 'we', the developed world countries, than yes that is true. But if 'we' is just the United States, you are not accurate. But your right, the only reason the United States gets away with it is because if the United States economy completely collapses there would be a epic world economic depression. Yes, By "We" I mean the developed countries, including the U.S., the ones who control things like the IMF and the World Bank and so forth. You are correct there.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 01:01 PM) Unfortunately, there is a very real chance we will find out. Excessive amounts of government debt are the proverbial 400 pound gorilla in the room no one wants to talk about. We could face a big time disaster with continued big deficits. I mean way worse than now. In 2009 alone we could see a 2 trillion dollar deficit. Could see a massive collapse in government funding, there just won't be any place for the US to get these resources. Total disaster. A bankrupt federal government. I believe that if we were in a position where we were a developing country and there was a larger, um, let's call them "US" type economy compared to us, the larger country would have already forced us in to default on a lot of that debt and caused a genuine currency crisis. It's what we've been doing to developing countries for decades.

I think it's official...the means of production are now completely publicly owned.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) Can we all agree that these monoliths will not make money with the union legacy costs? Even after 2010 when the union takes over these costs, do they(unions) really think they have the funds to cover the costs? They are kidding themselves. I smell union bailout on the horizon. How anyone in the UAW can complain about this situation is beyond me. Job banks, full health care with no co-pays for life for entire family. Not realistic in today's market wouldn't you say? Because making people pay even more for health care will do wonders to drive consumer spending!

Maddon takes the AL crown.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 11:36 AM) Over Charlie Manuel? Not sure I understand this vote. It's based on the regular season alone.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 11:36 AM) Market is tanking again. I think my 401k needs a billion dollar bailout. You're not too big to fail. You need to leverage that 401k to the point that you're controlling a hundred billion or so. Once that happens, when your 401k starts declining, then the feds will have to bail you out. Especially if you own a lobbyist or two.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 11:08 AM) I'd rather see the conditions surround development of more fuel efficient cars. If we can't drive 10 mpg, the terrorist win.

The real thing that ought to scare everyone in the L.A. basin with an event of this sort is water. People can't live without water. Fires can't be fought without water. Disease runs rampant without clean water. And L.A. and San Diego don't have enough water on their own for the tens of millions of people in the area. The 100 year solution to L.A.'s water problems has been to pump it in from outside. In California, water flows uphill towards money. It does this through a number of key aqueducts; specifically the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the California Aqueduct, which steal water from the Colorado and the Sierra Nevada, respectively. Both of these, of course, have to cross the San Andreas to bring their water to the basin. One of them is at the surface (Drive up the 14, you follow it), one of them is tunneled underground. If the fault shifts by 10 meters (30 feet), these are simply broken. The water in them stops, and especially for the underground one, you need to get down there and dig a totally new tunnel for the water to go through. This will take months. The breaking of the aqueducts is one big problem, but it's not the worst. L.A. and San Diego's water distribution system, like most of the country, is based in no small part on concrete pipes. When you hit the basin with the big one, these pipes break in hundreds of places. Some sections are ok, but the sections right next to them will be out. Even if the water was still getting in to the basin, you can't distribute it anywhere, because every single water line is down. And as people start trying to replace them, they realize that it's not worth trying to patch the breaks, because there are so many breaks they'd never find them all. The only solution for DWP is to rebuild L.A.'s entire water distribution system. It gets worse. If you wanted to rebuild a water distribution system today, you could do it...but it would take time. Because there is simply not enough water pipe being manufactured in the country to supply an entire city with repair material. Every agency, every city, and so on, will be competing for the limited amount of pipe being made. It will take somewhere between 6 months and a year for L.A.'s water supply to return to normal. Imagine 6 months without a shower. Imagine 6 months with no water for cooking. Imagine 6 months where there isn't normal water for drinking. Find a place for 6 months of waste. Every road is down. The aqueducts are down. And there are 20 million thirsty people who are trapped in this area who can't get out. You literally have to figure out how to get bottled water in on boats and distribute it that way, because it's the only way in. And then, start about 1000 or so fires. After the 1906 quake, San Francisco established a supply of underground cisterns to store water to fight fires after an earthquake, because of this exact problem. The city of L.A. does not have this system. So the only water they can get to fight fires will be piped from the ocean; there's no other option. ANd those pipes don't exist right now. If you're in an earthquake prone area, especially in L.A., the most important thing you can do to help yourself survive is to store water. A lot of the faculty I know in geology and civil engineering, who know something about what is going to happen when the San Andreas goes...have moved to buy those same sort of 55 gallon water barrels you see on freeways and put 2 or so of them in their back yard. I've got a limited supply, enough for a couple days for my family, because I'm in an apartment and I don't have a place to store that much. No matter who you are, store some water. You simply won't be able to get it after the quake, not for a few days. If the water response isn't fast enough...people will die from lack of water. And maybe a lot of them.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 10:36 AM) Just remember, plants are what the meat eats. I dunno...does Genetically modified corn and weird combinations of high fructose corn syrup still count as plants?

QUOTE (Texsox @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 10:09 AM) Perhaps the crux of the debate becomes, if we have to spend that money to keep the economy on track, does it matter what we spend it on. For example, if we buy 3,000,000 uniforms for Troops, helping the textile industry, does it matter if they get worn or not? I keep hearing how the government has to keep spending, in fact they need to increase spending while cutting taxes, but unlike early in the New Deal, I don't see massive public works packages, or something that at least looks like an investment. There's an important thing to understand that's different with the early new deal though. The Early new deal wasn't financed in a Keynesian stimulus type way. They actually paid for all those public works programs through tax increases and other maneuvers like switching from the gold standard. A massive program to build wind and solar energy plants though, might be a wonderful public works investment.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 10:49 AM) Next up will be the steel and auto parts companies. To everyone who didn't want to buy a US car, you pretty much just did, except you aren't getting the car out of it. "Too big to fail".

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 10:00 AM) Absolutely, Easy, cheap money is what caused the bubble. And I'm afraid we have another 18-24 months of pain. Except for the fact that I might be looking for a job during that time, I don't think I'd complain about 18-24 months of pain. Because frankly, it could be a lot worse.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) Barney Frank says the White House will sign a $25 billion dollar auto aid package. (Bloomberg) Didn't they already pass the $25 billion one a couple weeks ago, before the Auto industry came back and said they needed $50 billion more?