NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 19, 2011 -> 02:53 PM) 14 non-roster invites: Pitchers: Brian Bruney, Jeff Gray, Josh Kinney, Shane Lindsay, Miguel Socolovich, Kyle Bellamy, Brandon Hynick, Charlie Leesman Catchers: Josh Phegley, Donny Lucy, Jared Price Outfield: Jordan Danks, Brandon Short Infielder: Dallas McPherson Weird, I thought Hynick left. Maybe him and Humber can compete for a long man slot in the pen? And its interesting to still see Lucy around, and great to see Phegley being at camp. Jared Price though? WTF?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 19, 2011 -> 12:54 PM) Yeah that was very frustrating as I kept trying to relink the photo of the watch and it kept showing the photo of me. Holy crap, one of them is listed for $225,000. For a f***ing watch. Low prices seem like $40,000. Who buys a watch like that?

2011 will dictate whether or not TCQ will endure.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 08:15 AM) Apparently, this idea is catching on a bit. Names that have so far, publically supported the idea include Hoyer, Reid, Pelosi, Wasserman, McCain, and of course the rest of the Udall clan. Boehner's office gave a somewhat tepid reaction, but they are probably waiting to see how it goes. McConnell discussed it with Reid and Hoyer, no word yet from his camp. Article Durbin and Kirk will sit together, and some others are signing on as well. This SOTU layout on the floor will look much different than in times past.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 19, 2011 -> 10:13 AM) Sullivan's take on the Tea Party: This is one of the things that the GOP is going to struggle with, with the emergence of the Tea Party. Tea Partiers do include actual libertarians, and at a local level, the movement may have in part been generated by libertarian-like ideas. But its become clear that what the current people who call themselves Tea Party members are, in great part, is angry Republicans, pure and simple. Which actually sucks for the true libertarians in the crowd.

Braun said today that by endorsing Emmanuel, Bill Clinton has betrayed African Americans and Hispanics. Also, I thought it was interesting that in her debate talking points, she was the only candidate to specifically reject any new city taxes... but also refused to mention any cuts she'd make, and said that employee pensions were untouchable. Good luck with that combo.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 11:18 PM) I'm thinking big board update soon. Please do, it should prompt some nice discussion. So... why do you have a picture of a mannequin eating some weird blue thing as your avatar?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 19, 2011 -> 08:31 AM) If you want to use the quotes around it to use the technical term, it's "Liquefaction." I stand corrected.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 19, 2011 -> 08:34 AM) Which is of course why Wall Street is built on it. Calculated margin risk at an institutional level is an entirely different ballgame than an individual, part-time investor taking out a loan (which is what buying on margin is).

LOL at that Putin piece. I lived in Memphis for about 3 years. Made sure to add an Earthquake rider to my home insurance policy. New Madrid will, eventually, have another big quake. Depending on who you ask, it could already be "overdue" (which is just to say, past typical periodicity), or it might need more time to cook, or it might be weakening. And "big" is relative - it could send out a few 5's, with minimal damage, and be done. Or you could have an 8-level event, like what happened about 200 years ago (which was the most powerful earthquake documented in the continental US in its history). What I will say is, Memphis is woefully underprepared. Very few buildings meet any sort of earthquake stability requirements, and worse, Memphis sits mostly on a sandy silt-based bluff and slide area that is referred to as a "liquification zone". Basically, because of the silty ground between Memphis and the fault, not only does the strength of the shock waves not decrease quickly (like it would in California as it hit mountains), but in fact they may be amplified. Then there's the fact that a large percentage of Memphians still don't give the fault any thought, don't have insurance to cover the losses, don't have emergency supplies, don't know what to do if it hits, etc. I'm sure Balta can supply more info, but if/when New Madrid goes off big, it could potentially make any other historical US natural disaster look tiny in comparison.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 06:33 PM) I just found out that my dividends don't reinvest if I have margin debt, it goes to cash and then goes to paying the debt. This depends on the nature of your margin agreement, which is in part dictated by the rules of the clearing houses. If you are going to trade on margin (which I recommend individual amatuer investors do NOT do unless they are truly expert), you'd better be intimately familiar with the rules in your agreements for margin and buying power. Those documents should be readily available to you on your broker's site.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 07:44 PM) I have a hard time disputing the pilot's ascertain that they are part of the solution, not the risk, and should be allowed to carry. Its real easy for me. For one, they have nothing like the training that the FAA Air Marshals get, and the risk to the aircraft and its passengers of a gun going off on a flight is huge. Air Marshalls are already present on a lot of flights now (used to be rare). Cabin doors are now locked and reinforced during flight, and if someone is able to get in there, then its all over anyway. Basically, there are virtually no scenarios where it would help the situation, and a lot of scenarios where it makes things worse.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) they're public employees. pretty sure by law that information is published. edit: actually it looks like they're just deemed public record, so a simple FOIA request would get the info. I think newspapers/websites just post it for the convenience of the public. Why would people be against this? I want to know whatever every public employee makes. Keeps the government accountable for not paying people ridiculous salaries. Well, I think the problem comes in when there are exact names attached. For example... I recall a few years back, Tony Peraica published on the internet a list of all county employees by name, their position, time in position, and salary. Now, if it was just "Employee #XXX678, Admininstrative Bulls***ter, 8 years, $60,000" or the like, I'd be 100% OK with that. Its the adding of the full name that I found to be too intrusive. You can get everything you are asking for out of the information without an actual name.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:18 PM) Yeah, I've gotten salaries, names, seniority info, etc., nothing I'd actually call private, but it surprised me to hear you say that was illegal to give out. Sorry, again, I think I misinterpereted what he was saying.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:17 PM) ^ Where'd you move to? Northbrook. Sorry dude, had to leave Bucktown. Ran out of space in that condo with one kid (definitely wouldn't work with two), and when it comes time for schools, the city is a roll of the dice. Now I have a garage, a yard, and a snowblower.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:14 PM) Yep. Agreed 100%. Yet everytime there is a public candidate forum, there are more candidates and staff than there are general public. And I'll admit I don't often attend things like that in person - I have occasionally though. But you better believe that for any office I intend to vote for, I do some research on the candidates, somehow, some way. Now that I've moved to the burbs, I'll be getting involved in local government myself. Probably sit on a village commission or something to start with.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:10 PM) It's illegal to post private financial information of teachers? Then why have I been able to find that information online for public teachers. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:12 PM) What private information exactly are you talking about being posted? Salaries? I assumed he meant actually private information, which is definitely illegal. If he just means a salary and name, and the teacher is in a publc school, that information is not private or protected.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) So is it wrong for websites to post the private financial information of my wife, who's a public school teacher? It certainly makes me a bit uncomfortable. Is it wrong, that as a business, I can call experian or dun and bradstreet and buy lists of your names, addresses and phone numbers based upon certain demographics that I give them, that is based upon your credit score? For example, give me a list of everyone in Woodridge, age 35 and over, with personal credit scores of 700+. Yes, and it is per se illegal. Yes, but it is unfortunately completely legal.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:04 PM) Wait, so who exactly is bribing Assange to stay in school? Anyway, this is a side issue. Here's my general point...I see why "releasing private financial information" gets your hairs to stand on end. I'm hoping you see why "Releasing private financial information of people who are knowingly violating tax laws" doesn't really bother me. Your point is in direct conflict with some of your own beliefs you have put in here over the years, just on different political subjects. For example, you didn't want the telecoms giving away your info to the government. Using your logic, if you aren't violating any laws, then there should be no problem, right? The protection of personal information cannot and should not be flexible based on some persons suspicion that someone might be doing something wrong. Evidence and rule of law must win out.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 03:56 PM) True. Judges aren't a good example of this, but that's why you need the party identifier for alderman/council members. It's next to impossible to know every candidate, so if the illinois republican/democrat party endorses a guy then you know, generally, where they stand on issues. This irritates me - not your post, but this topic. For any given person on any given election in Chicago, once every two years or so, maybe once a year at most... you have zero to 8 Constitutional offices and maybe zero to 10 local offices to vote for. Why is it so beyond people to spend a f***ing hour once a year to make an intelligent decision about who represents them in government? I mean, I get that with judges and water commissioners, there is little or no info available. Fine, on those, use party or whatever. But your alderman? State rep? State Senator? It is just so frustrating to me that 99% of voters know nothing about these people. You are GIVING away your freedoms and rights by not paying attention.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 02:08 PM) More! I demand more! I think I understand where both sides are coming from here, I think you both have legitimate points. edit: I'd probably never vote for a Republican for any national office or probably even any state-wide office based on party stances. But does that trickle all the way down to local government in small to mid-sized cities and counties? I am actually more likely to vote for a Republican, the more local the job is. I tend to lean right on topics of the management of government, and lean left on social issues.

Reports for today... Homebuilder sentiment remains flat and low, a score of 16 on the Fargo scale (where 50 is the positive/negative inflection point). Expectations were for a small rise to 17. This is probably good, because it helps keep the glut down. NY Manufacturing index improved for January, up to 11.92 against December's 9.89 (basically in line with a 12 forecasted). Earnings from Citi and other bank stocks have been disappointing, and they (and Apple due to Jobs' new illness) are the only market laggards right now.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 10:24 AM) He couldn't have started this process like a year ago? http://www.cnbc.com/id/41131176 Oh that's right, he was too busy with health care reform, the emergency we were facing at the time. Obama never wanted those parts of the bill, that was all Congress.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 02:27 AM) By the way, NS, this is easily the hardest playing Iowa State team that you've ever seen. I guarantee it. Looking at how they finish when they are behind, I believe it. I've only gotten to watch them once so far this year. I am hoping they show up on ESPN2 or something, sometime the rest of the season. Next four games: tomorrow @ Okie State Sat @ Mizzou 1/26 vs Tech 1/29 vs OU That's two they should win (the home games), a 3rd they could (@ OSU). Mizzou on the road will probably not go well. But then it gets brutal: @ Colo, vs KSU, @ KU, @ A&M, vs Mizzou, @Tex.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 08:24 AM) Are you Mark Gonzalez trying to gin up publicity for your own columns? How else would you ask this question only hours after your article on Danks and arbitration goes to press? LOL The fact that its taking a while, combined with the impending free agency of EJax and MB56, makes me think the Sox are trying for a longer term deal with Danks.