NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 11:36 AM) Quite the contrary. This is in fact IN Russia's best interests on a security and influence level. I think it is only in their very short term best interests, in this case. Long term it was one deal too far. They are absolutely still a big player.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 11:11 AM) So this morning, there was This moderately interesting column in my LA Times by Rosa Brooks, one of their columnists that you probably wouldn't call a major hawk. Her prediction? There will be a war with Iran by September. So, I did a bit of reading into these Tor missiles, and They do actually appear to be quite formidable. They can operate in radar-jamming environments, so traditional anti-radar missiles won't necessarily work well against them. They have a very high kill rate, hitting somewhere between 92 to 95% of airplane targets. They also have the ability to hit cruise missiles, hitting between 60 and 90% of those. It can engage multiple targets simultaneously. Basically we're talking about a missile that is approaching the quality of the current Patriot system. As far as I can tell, once Iran gets these operational, there will be exactly 2 weapons systems in the world (that we know about) which are capable of actually doing damage to the Iranian nuclear program without extreme casualties; the F117 and B2 stealth bombers, which these missiles still cannot detect. So therefore, if Israel genuinely were planning a strike, this author is correct, as of September of this year, the cost of such a strike to the IDF would go up massively. Unless Iran installed more of these missiles, they wouldn't have enough to totally defeat the IDF with just those devices, but it is now officially safe to say that beyond Iran's fortifications on the ground, Iran is prepared to make any attempt to shut down their nuclear programs into a major conflict in the air over their country, involving heavy casualties on both sides. As far as Russia goes, I have tended to defend many of their regional actions, including some of the cooperation with Iran (or example, the bid to host their nuclear facilities for them). It was in their best interests. But this is just downright stupid. This makes Russia look like their zeal for economic power far outweighs any desire to be more than a weapons warehouse for the world.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:47 AM) I think what usually happens is that in the years prior to bankruptcies, people are living like most Americans these days, paycheck to paycheck. Then an unexpected expense arises, usually either the loss of a job or a large health care issue. So yes, they were probably using things like satellite TV beforehand, and oftentimes had contracts with companies which would cost more to break, and then suddenly they're no longer able to afford to go paycheck to paycheck. Of course, at the upper income levels, yeah there are a decent number of companies and businesses who take advantage of the bankruptcy laws in order to protect their assets, but I probably have as little concern for them as you do. When you're making $100k or more per year (just picking a random number) then a health expense shouldn't knock you into bankruptcy. I agree with most of what you say here. And its true I feel less sympathy towards someone making 100k who declares bankruptcy than someone who makes 20k (all else equal). But the "contracts are choices as well, for things that again, are not necessities. Those companies are almost always willing to negotiate terms as well, rather than have their customers disappear.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:34 AM) A significant majority of the low-income bankruptcy filers wind up doing so because of medical expenses, not because of satellite TV. I realize this will make me sound harsh, but I firmly believe that many of those who claim that medical expenses pushed them into bankruptcy were also spending a lot of money on things they consider "needs" that simply are not. I am NOT saying ALL of them, mind you - but a big chunk. I don't have statistics to share because, well, there are none (has anyone ever studied people's actual spending habits for the years prior to bankruptcies?).

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:18 AM) The Bankruptcy law was absolutely anti-middle class and a total handout to people at Bank of America, Capitol One, and other banks who don't want to be responsible lenders and make sure they get their 22% interest from anyone stupid enough to take the card. I'm afraid I don't agree. I think the personal bankruptcy laws in this country were too lax then, and probably still too lax now. People get in trouble financially, often times, because they spend more than they can. Yes, there are families who cannot afford their needs, but many of them make that complaint while watching their satellite TVs. Americans, in general, have lost the concept of "need". You NEED food, clothing, water and shelter, and you might be able to add health care and a few other things to that. Bot nowadays, things like cell phones and cable TV and a car are looked as as needs, when they truly are not. I realize this makes me sound insensitive, but it is my feeling on the matter. Now, I do NOT agree with the aspects of those bankrputcy law changes that gave breaks to businesses, which did not need them. The business bankruptcy laws are also, IMHO, too lax.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:11 AM) Can't even do that anymore. They changed the laws. There is no hope! I assume you are referring to my bankruptcy post. In which case, I'll say that I agreed with that law chance (for the most part).

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:06 AM) We could just default on our loans. That would save us a lot of servicing money. Ah yes, the great American solution - declare bankruptcy. :puke

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 09:55 AM) Hehe, just messing with you. Seriously though, since we're on this discussion, what exactly is it you would like to cut? Right now, the U.S. yearly deficit is something in the $300-$400 billion range depending on when exactly you account for Bush's war. Discretionary spending (not Social Security, Medicare, or interest on the debt) in 2005 was about $1 trillion dollars. A little over 1/2 of that went to defense spending/Homeland security. Which basically means that you would have to do away with the entire federal government in order to balance the budget through spending cuts. So, basically, we'd be talking about no highways, no funding for research, no health care infrastructure, no federal court system, no prisons, no airport security, no national park system, no FBI, no border security whatsoever, no EPA...well you get the idea. Your only other options are some combination of ending the Iraq war and dramatically reducing defense spending, raising the retirement age, eliminating Medicare entirely, and raising taxes to pay down some of the debt (thus reducing the yearly interest payments). The "other" option is to structure the federal government and all its agencies to have business-like expectations for efficiency and budgetary constraint. Lots of politicians have talked about cutting waste, but those promises usually end up being either complete BS, or based on the idea that just giving agencies less money will make them more efficient (which is just plain assinine). I'd like to see the pro-business GOP (or anyone, really) stand up and set the bar for the federal government to be run like a business. The amount you give agencies isn't the key factor in efficiency - its what the produce per dollar.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 07:44 AM) I've always heard the "dot" referred to in more mysoginistic terms.... When I asked my friend why - I was told because you have to be gentle and use it "just so" to get the desired result. I'd agree that there is a delicate art involved in the mastery of the dot.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 08:34 AM) well, when the catcher looks to the dugout before every pitch, and then calls the pitch, hes getting the calls from the dugout. Just an FYI. Now now Rock, no need for the sarcasm. I didn't see it happen that often, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, since I was only watching that game on and off.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 03:45 PM) I dont care about last year. This year in particular, I was at the game where he caught Javy and being a former catcher, I thought his game planning was very bland and predictable. Last night he was calling the pitches until seattle had 3 runs. Then you could see him looking over at the dugout. I'm not sure if that was for pitch calls, or that Widge was concerned about his pitcher. Either case would draw that reaction.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 03:14 PM) I could never get use to the "dot". I also don't use the scroll feature. External mouse, then? How else do you get around the screen?

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 06:08 AM) ABSOLUTELY, the truth is somewhere in the middle. However, the main stream media, and the "liberals" that get the itch don't want to believe anything is good about the man at all. BushCo has absolutely screwed the pootch on many issues, and I have always said that if there were a Democrat that could be trusted to stand on national defense (and not smoke and mirrors bulls***) and was a fiscal conservative - meaning a Democrat that could or would admit tax cuts work and figure out another way to make the government more responsible (SPENDING CUTS) I'd vote for him in a minute. What would you think of a Democrat who was willing to enter office and keep tax levels right where they are, and were strong on national defense? But who had a mind towards efficiency, and put in place a serious program of analyzing and streamlining all federal agencies, using corporate consulting firms, like other businesses (as I have suggested here before)? Would you vote for that candidate, even though they didn't cut taxes? I know that is just a theoretical, I'm just curious how important tax cuts are to you.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 08:32 AM) Seriously, I just really hate Widger. Once we gave up all the runs, the dugout finally took over the pitch calls. I really think he calls a s***ty game this year. I'm fairly certain that Widger's game-caught ERA last year was almost identical to AJ's. I'm not concerned.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 08:04 AM) I never had a quality problem, it's been design issues. Placement of stuff. I thought I would like the joystick thingy stuck in the keyboard on I think it was the Toshiba, not. I thought I liked the drives up front, until I was on an airplane and had to suck in my gut to get a CD in. This HP has the USB ports right next to the power connection. The power connection is a right angle connector and it blocks the ports if it isn't moved to the side. Stuff like that. I actually have been impressed with the quality of every laptop I've owned. I will probably go IBM next, I never seem to buy the same brand twice. Thinkpad drives are on the side, and the ports are either side or back. Nothing in front but the mini-speakers. And last I checked, you got to choose between "The Dot" (the little stick in the keyboard, which is my preference), or a scroll pad. Many come with both and you can switch as desired.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 01:58 PM) Mexica movement, they will be at the May1st parade This makes me f***ing sick. These are the type of nutjobs that start with a movement, and then start doing stupid s***. This Aztlan movement sounds like a certain Basque separatist movement in France/Spain. They started out wanting something similiar, then boom went the bombs. Stupid There has already been seperatist violence in northern New Mexico among various segments of the Hispanic population, on and off, since the Spaniards arrived there in the 16th century. As recently as the 70's, there were massive protests and violent riots. Even now, there are occasional acts of violence and lots of civil disobedience there. Nothing new in that part of the world - we just don't hear about it much.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 02:25 PM) lol i've read about this before, it's the perfect example of who the democrats really are. The perfect example of how Kennedy and Kerry really are. Sorry, i can't accept that as an indictment of an entire party. Another good place for a wind farm - well offshore on the Great Lakes. Less ship traffic, plenty of wind, major cities nearby who need power... and Hudson Bay is even better. If we can just find a way to store the generated power chemically, we could put these things in the middle of the ocean and have them generate hydrogen for fuel cells. Just need to go get it, or have a flexible pipeline dropped to the floor of the lakebed. Neat trick, huh?

QUOTE(WCSox @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 11:38 PM) Um, no. Chalk one series loss to our lineup not being able to hit Moyer and Washburn. ^^^^^^^^^ How quickly people forget that Oz rested his starters a lot in 2005 too, and guess what? It worked! Plus the lineup they used Monday still had 6 of the 9 regular starting lineup in there. Its not as if he played all 5 bench players and threw some pitchers in the outfield for kicks.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 10:18 PM) I have found something to dislike about every laptop I have owned. From a Sony through a Toshiba, a Dell and now a couple HPs. Drive placement. missing ports (I need a serial port now). This one has a crappy power plug that comes loose too easily and blocks the USB connectors. Then buy an IBM (or Lenovo or whatever they want to call it). They aren't too exciting in design, and they are a bit pricey, but you will get quality.

QUOTE(rventura23 @ Apr 24, 2006 -> 08:02 PM) has anybody bought a Lenovo thinkpad? Ive always used IBM thinkpads and am looking for a new computer, but didnt know if Levono's changed it much If you bought an IBM TP in the last 5 to 7 years, then you already had a Lenovo thinkpad. Lenovo was building them for IBM for years, they just recently broke off the business to the Lenovo name. I'll say that IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads are the best laptops you can own for reliability, toughness and practicality. They may not be as flashy as a Vaio, but in every other way, ThinkPads are the way to go. You do pay for that, though - they aren't the cheapest. What I would really like to get now is one of those Panasonic Toughbook laptops that can be used in a downpour, at high altitude, below freezing, can be dropped 6 feet, etc., and has something like a 15 hour battery. Cool stuff.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 04:14 PM) BTW, the eTrex is awesome. I was out geocaching and it worked great. Nice little handheld unit. We use an eTrex Vista, from about 2000. Great unit, water resistance, shock resistant, etc. But its B&W, has a low limit for waypoints uploaded from software, and runs out of batts too quickly. We are about to invest in a pair of these bad boys: http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDis...ductId=47970751 We can get rid of our GMRS two-ways AND upgrade our GPS in one shot. Plus, how cool is it to be able to radio someone, and see each others' coordinates on the GPS?

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 08:43 AM) Oh come on. This man "mocked" Bush. If he had "mocked' the esteemed Revereand Jackson, you all would screaming racism. Why is one acceptable and one not? A person in the public eye is still being mocked. Honestly, If the guy was funny, I'd be pretty entertained with either one being mocked.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 03:04 PM) http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/25/duke.suspect/ One of the defendants Finnerty is now also being tried for an unrelated assault charge, in which he attacked some one when they told Finnerty and his friends to stop calling him gay. Basically Finnerty is f***ed, part of his probation was that he could not be anywhere that alcohol was served so even if the stripper story turns out false, he will still go down for the assault charge. He even violated the curfew that was set for him, so this may be the leak in the damn that brings down the whole defense. If Finnerty is innocent in the stripper case, he has to flip at this point. The prosecutor will most likely be able to get him out of the assault case if he is willing to work with the authorities to convict the rapist. Otherwise Finnerty will go down for sure on the assault charge, and then will have a mountain to climb in the rape case. Because the assault will be a prior felony conviction within the last year, it will be allowed into the rape trial as impeaching evidence if Finnerty decides to take the stand. If the defense's grand idea was to attack the victims credibility, it will be much harder now that Finnerty's past is being revealed. So... now it might be rich scumbag vs poor scumbag? I don't want to hear anymore about any of these people.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 25, 2006 -> 02:45 PM) The proposal you heard was a temporary 60 day repeal of the Federal Gas Tax which would be funded by a matching temporary 60 day rollback of gas company tax incentives. It was introduced by Senator Menendez, of my state in New Jersey. And given that these companies are getting record profits from record high prices, it seems appropriate that maybe huge tax breaks aren't necessary for a couple months. Except that we need to push them into research, somehow. What is your suggestion?

I see nothing wrong with being a fan of both teams. I personally root for the Sox, and I kind of don't care much about the Cubs one way or the other. But I see no reason why people can't just enjoy baseball.