NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 09:59 AM) My town voted yes, about 55-45. I ended up voting no just because all of those companies have harassed me so much for the past 5 years. Well, if your village passed it, they would change you over, and I think they'd stop harassing you. So why vote no? Also... I've never gotten a call from any of them. Just some occasional junk in the mail. Are you not on the do-not-call list?

My concern isn't how they start, its how they do in the latter part of the season.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 09:05 AM) Most of the municipalities passed the energy negotiation referendum. Article here - suburbs who already did it are reporting 15 to 30% savings. I am glad it went over well. 75% voted for it in my suburb.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 03:03 AM) Stewart needs to be starting in AAA. He, Molina, or Castro will all be interesting to watch. Santiago and Axelrod should be the long men. I would prefer the other way around, Axelrod seems much more capable of being a successful starter to me. That said, more than likely the org values Stewart more because he came in trade... plus Stewart just hasn't looked as sharp in ST. So likely it will work the way you state.

My wife's loan started into payments in 2004, and somehow, she got a rate that was 2.75%. Then after 5 years of on time payments, it went down to 1.75%. Not a typo. I won't be paying that baby off for a while. That's like inflationary-level free money.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 06:15 PM) you are Enlighten me.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 03:40 PM) Constellation has one of the largest alternative portfolios as well as one of the largest retail customer bases in the country, from what I understand. As for the alternative energy being sourced that way, I have absolutely no idea how that could be possible. It sounds like nonsense to me... I can see how it is possible. But I am sure there are tricks involved. For example... if say Spark Energy already buys 100 widgets worth of supply, and say 5 of those widgets are already from alternatives... the first 5 widgets delivered per period, can essentially be allocated to those alternative choice folks... even though in reality, the balance and cost are the same for Spark. Until... the number of people choosing that source goes above 5 widgets. At that point, audits would reveal the falsehood. So, they have to bump up their buys on alternative energy sources. So basically, I am under no illusions that I am somehow being piped electricity directly from some wind farm somewhere. But I do think that, as more people choose it, more supply will be built in that area. I am still a big believer in distributed alternative energy with net billing as an ideal model, especially for solar, but that is a ways off from being reality, especially in the Midwest.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:32 PM) Just FYI, Excelon, the parent company of ComEd, has just merged with Constellation. I'll be interested to see how that affects your options. Interesting note about the alternative energy pricing. Does the utility promise to use the difference in price to reinvest in alternative energy? There are 3-4 big alternative companies out there - Constellation was one, also Spark, IGS, others. I suspect that ComEd's buying of Constellation will probably look like a portfolio buy. It allows them to get more into the supplier market and lower their own costs, as well as diminish some of the customer loss. At worst, you end up back with ComEd, where you started. The alternative is SOURCED that way. Indirectly, I am sure that means more investment in the alternatives, but directly, it means that is where your power is coming from. If demand goes up for the alternatives, they will capitalize more supply in that area. Free market stuff.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:48 PM) Thanks for the info. I know about those different electric companies, I have always refused to switch because they call/visit my shop at least once a week are usually complete assholes about getting me to switch to their service. I also am a bit wary of getting caught in some contract that costs more in the long run, which I have heard has happened to some. However, if my village is in charge of it, then I'm sure it's much less likely to get caught like that, so sounds like it could be a good idea. You lock in a rate for a year. Thing is, rates fluctuate, but they aren't going to tank. Therefore, it will be less than otherwise, almost guaranteed. And you can still escape it for like $50, so if for some reason ComEd cuts their rates in half (LOL), you can still cut over. I doubt you are hearing anyone saying they switched to an alternate provider with a much lower rate, then got screwed by it, because the only way that happens is if rates crash pretty dramatically. Since energy is costing more and more, not less, that just isn't in the cards. QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:52 PM) Is this referendum for all of Chicago/suburbs, or some little community I don't care about...like Hoffman Estates, for example? Everyone in Hoffman Estates sucks...so if this is just for them, I'm voting no on this. Its a whole collection of suburbs. Not sure which ones, over a dozen of them, and the next election will have another dozen or more, etc. It will likely effect everyone, eventually.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:02 PM) None of the five starters pitched 200 innings last year and only two of the five have ever done it, so I'd be shocked if the Sox carried only 6 relievers. Concern number one with this team is the four horsemen of 2011 underachievement. But a close 2nd, is what you hit on here - only Floyd and Danks put in full starting seasons last year. Peavy is coming off injury for (hopefully) his first full year back, Humber hit a wall at like 150 IP, and Sale was a reliever. I have a feeling some of those guys are going to run out of gas late in the season, through no fault of theirs, just the reality of the situation.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:10 PM) What is the benefit of that electricity referendum? I noticed it will be on my ballot too. I was gonna vote no, but my knowledge on it is limited. Long story short... When you get your ComEd bill in the mail, you are paying for two things - delivery, and supply. For most people, ComEd supplies both. But as of a few years ago, you can now choose your own supplier for the electricity. And many of the new ones - Constellation, Spark, etc. - are much cheaper than ComEd. Many also provide options for specifically buying renewable power as well. For example, if ComEd's rate is 7.6 cents, Constellation may offer 6.4 cents for normal, or 7.1 cents for alternative. Cheaper either way. Many people have started switching - I did. Now, some villages want to essentially aggregate their customers (personal and business), and become one large customer. This allows them to take bids for lower rates for electricity supply. So, if your village votes yes, and they get some bids significantly cheaper than ComEd (which they would), they will switch all village residents from ComEd to this aggregated supplier. This would save people money. In the case of my suburb, if you have already chosen an alternate provider, they will not auto-switch you. But you can request the switch. Also, you can choose to opt out, though I am not sure why you would. Seems like a good idea to me. The village government isn't going to supply the electricity, so it is really the same as you switching it, except they do it for you.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 11:53 AM) On the retelling from TMNT to TAiNT Michael Bay is such a tool. I really don't get the uproar. Its Michael Bay. Are you expecting anything other than a horrible joke of a movie? Regardless of how they "retell the story"? It is going to be hot garbage anyway.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 01:02 PM) There really is zero reason to believe that "The debt level is at a tipping point" right now. Demand for US debt is strong. Demand for safe assets in the global financial markets are strong, and has probably outstripped supply for at least a decade, and definitely since fall of 08. And since the U.S. has its own currency and can adjust the value of that currency in response to any hypothetical shocks in debt demand, a tipping point is very hard to come up with anyway. I tend to agree with the idea that a "tipping point" is hard to really pin down. At least, not until later. But, the problem is, look at what the interest load is going to do to future budgets. That is a problem increasing with alarming speed.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 10:57 AM) So you think the Sox are cutting Fukudome? Hahaha, crap, I knew I forgot something. Lose Johnson, add Fukudome. Otherwise the same. If they go 6 relievers, Johnson makes it.

Voting is taking place in IL today. I went with Romney on the Prez Primary. Voted YES on a referendum here to aggregate electricity supply, a bunch of suburbs have similar ballots on. Who did you vote for?

Kind of surprised McPherson survived longer than Martinez or Kuhn. The battle lines now are... BULLPEN DEFINITE: Thornton, Crain, Ohman, Reed BULLPEN CANDIDATES (2 or 3 - I bolded my prediction of who makes the roster): Axelrod, Bruney, Jones, Santiago, Septimo, Stewart, Stults BENCH DEFINITE: Lillibridge, Flowers BENCH CANDIDATES (2 or 3, probably 2): Escobar, Gallagher, Johnson, McPherson, Olmedo, Saladino, Danks This means there isn't a true backup for CF, but De Aza and Rios can both play there. Everything else is covered pretty well.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Mar 19, 2012 -> 10:40 PM) Some recommended reading http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/magazine...nted=1&_r=1 I guess I must be missing what is so groundbreaking with this guy's (the professor's) posits. I mean, basically, he is saying that a country's wealth is correlated with how well the majority of its people do economically. Um... duh? Then of course, the author takes that oracle of the obvious, and turns his words into something he clearly didn't mean - that enabling of free markets to the point of loss of control is somehow a good thing. Which is in fact, I'd say, the opposite of what this professor is saying.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 19, 2012 -> 12:00 PM) I'm going against the grain here, but I want to see Stewart as a starter. I think guys with tremendous sinkers/2-seamers like that are wasted in the bullpen. Let him develop a tertiary pitch and see what happens. That seems to be his problem though - his development of any more than 2 pitches hasn't gone well so far. He showed flashes last year, but mostly he was disappointing. I've only seen him pitch a little in spring, but so far, looks the same to me.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 19, 2012 -> 09:46 AM) I really dont' think Stewart can ever start. Maybe he can be a solid reliever but his stuff just isn't all that good. I wanted to be excited but when I've watched him, I'm very "meh". I agree, I think he's a reliever. I'd rather have him in the pen, with Axelrod starting in AAA.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 16, 2012 -> 04:31 PM) Well the laws keep coming fast and strong so I don't know if it's really dwindling. Legislation is a laggard. Look at the national numbers for support of the "tea party" (or what it has turned into), and how some of these GOP governors in states NOT typically very conservative are doing. And let's see how 2012 elections go.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 19, 2012 -> 07:19 AM) I'm not even checking the standings. If I'm not in last place, then somebody must really, really suck at this. That would be me. First year back to bracketing in about five years, and it is not going well so far.

I'd have to go look it up, but just by memory, I believe Duke is also the team that got closest to losing as a 1 vs a 16. U of New Orleans took them to OT, I believe, back in the 80's.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 16, 2012 -> 08:50 PM) St. Mary's with one of the biggest blunders I've ever seen. What did I miss?

Fun fact... Norfolk State didn't score more than 83 points against ANYONE in a regulation game this season. Until just now.

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Mar 16, 2012 -> 05:51 PM) Down goes Missouri!!! Down goes my bracket!