NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 01:24 PM) I looked into this when we started him in our daycare, but isn't the catch that you can't then also claim the child care credit? The FSA essentially IS the Child Care Credit. Same 5k amount, it's just that with using an FSA, you don't have to wait for tax time. Many businesses do this automatically, my wife's does and we use it (mine does too but you only use one). She just submits receipts up to 5k worth (which doesn't take long, lol), and they reimburse every two weeks like a paycheck to our checking account. It's fantastic. Though I do with it was per child, instead of 5k total.

QUOTE (Julius @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 11:10 AM) First off, I owe a big time apology. Thank you for letting me know the rules, which I should have seen within this forum. Technically, I won't know the face value of each game until I get the tickets. My initial offer of pricing was based on rounding. The cost for a full season ticket in the upper deck corners is $615. Divide that by 81 games and you get to $7.59 per ticket, so I rounded to an offer of $30 for 4 tickets. I will abide by the rules of the administrator. If this thread needs to be closed, I understand and I can repost at a later date once I get the tickets. Again, my apologies. No need to close the thread, this is fine, just wanted to make it clear. You can certainly discuss general terms, and then deal with specific prices later when you have the tickets in hand. Just as long as when you sell them, they don't sell for more than face value. If you think you can get more than face, try Stub Hub for those games, which I myself do as part of my own STH group.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 11:17 AM) Is Carroll better than: Robertson, Petricka, Guerra, Webb, Putnam, Jennings, or Duke? If Crain is healthy somehow that leaves another spot. Not to mention guys like Onelki Garcia and Cleto. I take my best 7. Carroll isn't one of them. He starts in Charlotte or goes to another organization. I tend to agree. I like having him in Charlotte as injury depth though, especially if a starter goes down. Other than Rodon, there aren't a lot of starters who look major league ready in the system right now. Beck, Recchia & Montas all need more time (and of course have different ceilings but that's another matter). Point is there is a time gap there, and Carroll can help provide insurance for 2015.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 06:24 AM) its not like its a new thing. AI taking control and destroying humanity has been a theme for quite some time. 2001, Terminator, War Games, Lawnmower Man, I, Robot, Alien, Aliens. There are so many of them, Trancendence and the chat horror movie arent much different Sneakers (not so much horror), Ghost in the Machine...

QUOTE (Julius @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 07:52 PM) I have 4 tickets in Section 508, 4th and 5th row. They are piggyback seats (Seats 1 and 2 in both rows - quick aisle access for that beer/bathroom break) With these being season tickets, you get lower deck access. For now, the following games are available: 1. April games (not Opening Day) 2. May games (not Paulie Day) 3. September games (all available) For each game, if you buy 4 tix, cost is $30 total. Buy 3 for $25 or 2 for $15. Send a PM or email me at [email protected] to inquire. For anyone buying in volume, I may add on a promo item and/or get back in touch with you if I have tix available for the "more premium" games. Like Brooks Boyer and Uber, I may invoke "surge" pricing for the premium games, but my intent is to be reasonable (less money spent on tix, means more money for Summer Shandy) In February, when tix are sent to me, we can work out payment arrangements. I will have both hard stock and emailable versions of tickets for your preference. Go Sox, Julius You CANNOT sell tickets here for more than face value, as is printed on the ticket. So no "surge" pricing will be allowed for sale through our site. What are the face values of these tickets?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) That's the problem. We really don't have one these days. We have group A and group B and for the most part the members of each group act and think the same way. Well certainly it has become more binary, with less of the variance on each side. Moderate groups that tended towards the middle have shrunk on the left, and all but disappeared on the right.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:51 PM) Once again, the people screaming the loudest about global warming have no problems spewing out millions of tons of pollutants to fly private jets to an exotic destination to feel important. Why are they not online conferencing? WHERE'S MY PRIVATE JET?!?!?!

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:46 PM) Or as Reddy and others have pointed out, when the people have spoken via their vote, the other side has to just lay down and do whatever the new party says. I've been told that's how it should work repeatedly the last 6 years. I actually like that there is a mixed government. Honestly the only part of that I'd change is the absurd 60-vote rule in the Senate, which I'd love to see go away.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:45 PM) Probably, but keep in mind the country he was handed in 1980 and the country he left in 1988. Markedly different. And for the better. Change it to this... QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:45 PM) Probably, but keep in mind the country he was handed in 2008 and the country he left in 2015*** (leaving in 2016). Markedly different. And for the better. And also pretty accurate, in terms of economy, foreign relations and other factors that the same can be said for Reagan. How much either gets credit for it is up for debate. I think Reagan was very effective, mind you. Overall he did a lot of good, and some bad. Just pointing out that he's been inflated into something cartoonishly inaccurate in some circles.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 12:45 PM) Sure is scarier when you report it as 118k gallons instead of 3200 barrels.... Wow. Really?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 04:33 PM) It requires two parties to reach an impasse. Obama is as much to blame as the Repubs. If you want to pass something, give up something. It's call compromise. It's been rare that's he's been willing to do it, just like the Repubs. I somewhat agree, though as I noted before, the Dems have at least been trying to pass things that are not simply reversing something someone else did. The GOP hasn't really done that. Both parties have of course done a LOT of blockading.

The continued mythologization (is that a word?) of Ronald Reagan is one of the most bizarre parts of politics today in my eyes. He's been turned into something he simply wasn't. I mean, the guy's administration was responsible for the revolution in use of block grants to the states (which GOP'ers rail against today), he was FOR amnesty for illegal immigrants (same), he dramatically increased (or signed off on increased) government spending even beyond inflation (same), and he oversaw a huge wave of land protections for environmental purposes (same). Yes he pushed drops in tax rates on the higher brackets, yes he deserves credit for pushing the USSR over the brink they were already pretty much headed towards and did it smartly. If he were to run for the GOP Presidential nomination today, he would be laughed off the stage for being far too liberal.

Dan Black with an invite? Kinda surprised at that one.

So the Sox will have 6 catchers in camp to start ST: Flowers, Nieto, Kottaras, Brantly, Soto, Smith. Interesting collection. QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 02:26 PM) the past couple of seasons, i am surprise the sox didn't use some of the vendors to see if they couldn't man a position or pitch. Fun fact: The White Sox have a pitching prospect who actually was a hot dog vendor at Comiskey/The Cell in their youth, and his mother worked in the park for some time as well. His name is Mike Recchia, Crestwood native.

Indications look like they are nowhere close to changing the draft date. It is in early discussions, the 7/1 date being right before Intl 7/2 signings is a huge problem, and this also causes major issues for rosters on short season league teams. Furthermore, this change has to be collectively bargained to include the union. Basically, there is probably only the slimmest chance this happens this year, and it may not happen at all (or may happen in a different way).

Wow, Baylor was losing to NAIA school Houston-Tillotson, at Baylor, for most of the 1st half. What is it with Baylor teams being so wildly inconsistent? They were like this the past couple seasons too. And why the hell is Baylor playing a school like that in the midst of conference play anyway? Or playing them at all?

I watch every year, regardless of who is in the office. I feel like it is some sort of obligation, which is probably silly. It's the same every year pretty much, though this year did have a little looser feel than others. A little more hooting and hollering, a little more humor. I liked that aspect. But damn, the game of sit/stand/applaud left/right/both is just plain irritating. Stop it, we don't need to do that with every point the President makes. It's pomp and circumstance, and it's usually a series of goals most of which won't be met. But it does illustrate the priorities of the administration, which I think is worth watching. Obama struck, I thought, the right tone... but he's also a guy who has consistently talked a big compromise game without ever working to do that. Not that the GOP Congress has been any better of course, they just blockade everything he does because he's the one doing it. But, hard as this is to admit, I kind of miss the days of Clinton and Gingrich actually working together to do a few things. We haven't seen much of that lately. One other note - I hope the GOP is smart enough to see that they cannot continue to revolve their entire strategy around stopping Obama and the Dems when the economy has gotten so much stronger. It worked in November, but I'll be the farm it won't work in 2016 unless we dive into another recession by then. They need to have an affirmative theme at some point.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 20, 2015 -> 03:57 PM) eta SoxTalk wilderness get-together? When my kids are older so I can either bring them with or not feel like an awful husband for leaving my wife with them alone for a week.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jan 20, 2015 -> 04:32 PM) Lucky! That should be fun, congrats! That person will be the poster known as raBBit on here, by the way. I'm not the one going, though I'm jealous as hell. Thanks!

FYI, Future Sox will have a writer credentialed and attending Sox Fest this year as a member of the media for the first time. More to come.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 20, 2015 -> 01:29 PM) Water weight is the worst. I always volunteer to carry food and extra water. Each meal lightens my load. Food weight is always amusing. I vividly recall someone once on a trip, dropping their back and yelling "Are we gonna eat some of this F(*&^&*^ peanut butter? Becauseif we're not I'm chucking it over the side of this Go*&(&*^$R cliff!"

It is true the Cubs far outdraw the Sox, and that it would be great if more Sox fans showed up for games (and I think a lot more will this year, though not nearly enough to catch the Cubs yet). It is also true The Cell is a far better destination for kids, which is something that will help the Sox while the Cubs don't get that advantage. It is also also true that a guy in Ricketts' position shouldn't be saying stuff like that because it makes him look like an unprofessional buffoon.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 17, 2015 -> 07:39 PM) all man, i am sooo hype that someone like Callis will even reach out for future sox top list. this site sure has grown into something special. on to the subject. yeah i can wait to see the new list of soxtalk top prospect. I am not sure I understand the bolded. Callis does follow us on Twitter and we've interacted a few times, but I am quite sure he and MLB are not going to be linking to or mentioning our top prospects list. That said... the new Future Sox T25+ list is being worked on right now. Votes are mostly tabulated, write-ups underway. Planning to go live next week.

We wrote this up in detail in October, feel free to give it a look to get more detail.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jan 19, 2015 -> 08:58 AM) I know this is an old post, but I thought I'd say something about it anyway. 30 lbs, not 50. If your pack weighs that much, you're taking wayyyyyy too much stuff with you. People commonly overpack cloths and food on these types of trips. I'd recommend getting the pack as near to 30lbs as you can. Or you can be like me, arrive at 6pm and do a 1 mile vertical switchback hike in Colorado carrying 18 cans of beer in your pack. My friends all laughed at me until we arrived at our campsite. I could have sold those beers for like 20 a piece. They're lucky I'm nice. QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 19, 2015 -> 09:08 AM) That's true. One of the funnier parts of Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" about the AT is when his friend goes "yard sale" on all of the extra crap in his pack. I've 50 lbs as the upper end of the common range for longer (week+) trips, but for a night or two that's really unnecessary. Agree strongly that keeping weight down is key, and normally you shouldn't even need 30 pounds, let alone 50, even for a week. That said, I have seen one exception to this. Did a backpacking trip once that I was quite proud of - we were the first backpacking group to do the at-the-time new anchor leg of the Continental Divide Trail, from the Mexican border to I-10, in the boot heel of NM (there's a whole story how and why we were first but that's another post). 75 miles in 5 days, mostly without trail or road, through a combination of searing desert and rough sky island mountains, usually without any sort of trail or road. It was rough. But the key thing is, this was a really, really dry area. There was no reliable natural water source the entire route. Our only water re-supply was around the midway point when we crossed a road, where the day before we had left a water cache. We needed to carry 2-3 days of water per person, which in those conditions is about 1.5 gallons per person. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. So we were carrying, at the beginning of each segment, 24-36 pounds of water each. Let me tell you... scrambling your way up a steep, dry wash of rough pumice-like rocks and every kind of pointy and edgy plant imagineable while rucking 50+ pounds was a challenge. But we needed the water, it was that simple. Exceptions to every rule.