NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 12:02 PM) I wasn't comparing Thome and Dunn at all. See my last response to Shack. Yeah, that was more shack I was responding too about comparing the two, which you then responded to.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 12:01 PM) Well...do you add the "Clean" player caveat? Even if not, the number is still quite small. Even smaller if we take out the people we're pretty sure were cheating.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:56 AM) Nobody saw it last year. If used correctly, I can definitely see it. Some guys are just born to hit. Julio Franco was sporting .800ish OPS's at age 44/45. If they can keep Jim's PAs around 350-375, I can see him having a fine year. The 300 PA is key here - Thome would then be a part time player. Dunn was not signed as a part time player, which is why you really can't compare the two this way. And Franco was an absolute freak of nature. How many hitters in the modern era have been able to put up better than average offensive numbers playing full time from age 40 up?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:44 AM) Jeesh. Part of the reason I am not super in love with Dunn is because I know we could still have Thome for not just a fraction of the price, but a freaking sliver of the price. Obviously at this age, the odds of Thome staying healthy decrease with every PA, but still, it frightens me a bit that everyone is so excited about the Dunn signing, but many of those same people were so unsatisfied by Thome's last few years here. Imagining what we could be doing with this payroll had we not traded for Peavy and just kept Thome on board two years ago makes me slightly queasy. I find it hard to believe, that at age 40/41 this season and with his back issues, that he will be both healthy all season playing full time AND be able to put up similar numbers to typical Dunn, in 2011. Possible, yes, but highly unlikely.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:40 AM) I think he's trying to say Sale will be useful against all the Twins left handed batters late in games in the bullpen. Ah, I took the post a little too literally I guess.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:36 AM) Also confirmed: Sale will be in bullpen. Confirmed? By whom? And what does that have to do with this thread?

Eh, its really hard to believe he'd have another year like last year. Possible, but unlikely at his age.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:14 AM) i think you mis-understood my point or i mis stated it. Take those people with readily displayed rifles at the President's events recently. While the USSS certainly takes a look at them for protecting the President, I'm not naive enough to think that someone displaying a fire arm in open public, is really trying to pull off an assaniation plot on an elected official. What I'm saying, is that during their protests, they run into counter protestors and things turn ugly (say Rand Paul supporter stomping on head ugly) by keeping these guns out of the mix, will certainly save some lives amongst these people in the future. First, people are not readily displaying rifles AT Presidential events. They are somewhere in the very general vicinity, and that distinction is key. Second, the only way to deal with what you are saying is to outlaw carrying guns at any sort of public event or protest of any kind, and that is a fairly large intrusion on 2A rights.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 10:36 AM) I'll add something to this discussion. If at the end of the day, this tragedy leads to laws prohibiting protestors or people from showing up to political events with rifles or pistols at their side while at the same time turning down the heat on some of this political flamethrowing, then we will most likely be preventing future occurances like this from ever happening again. (plus the secret service will thank you for making their lives slightly easier) On a sidenote, there was an interesting show on cable recently about "inside the secret service". It tells the story of one former agent who nearly killed a high school kid back in the 60's/70's i think, for pointing a water pistol at the president's motorcade, on a dare from his friends. He was a sharpshooter who was 1/2 second away from pulling the trigger when he realized that the gun was red, not black, which allowed him to pause for a second. Such a law would do nothing to help the USSS. You have to understand that the law already allows for temporary restrictions on weapons around protected individuals. You need physical security to actually implement that, not new laws. Further, if the law's purpose is prevent future acts, you gain nothing - people who were going to try are going to try and would be prosecuted as it is, we don't need a new law for that.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 10:35 AM) You don't owe the money back instantly. It would be changed from a loan to a withdrawal. You would be responsible for paying the penalties associated with taking a withdrawal. Either way, not a good place to be.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 10:06 AM) I laughed out loud at Lost's incredulousness. So my company has a 6% match, as well as a separate retirement plan. It's one of the things they do pretty well for us on. I joined the company in July of 08', and it took a few months to get things all set up with my 401k and everything, so basically, I started buying mutual funds right around when everything hit bottom. So I've been pretty lucky. My company uses Vanguard. Anyways, since I may be in the market for a car, and especially a used car, I was thinking of taking a loan out of my 401k as opposed to a standard auto loan, since the loan on my 401k would be a 4.0 % or so, and from what I understand, I'd basically be paying the interest back to myself. My plan allows me to continue contributing and getting my company match while paying back the loan. Good idea? Not a good idea? Unless you are in dire financial circumstances, I would avoid taking a loan from your 401k. You are mortgaging your financial future, literally. You are correct in that you are paying interest to youself, so on a purely cost comparison, its better than a car loan. But... That money now cannot gain with the market, cannot earn dividends, cannot be part of the multipliers, etc. Each dollar that isn't in a 401k now and for the next few years, is 10's of dollars you miss out on later. I'd avoid doing it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 09:53 AM) So I waited a few days to see if this would pass, but finally I decided that I should speak up. At least in the beginning I don't think I have made any secrets about how I felt the coverage of this event went. I found the accusations and the beliefs that somehow certain people and politics were somehow responsible, and then still somehow included in this event disgusting. It really disturbs me that so many people could point a finger before the bullets had hardly finished echoing in this event, and then feel no remorse for doing so. In fact instead of recognizing their judgments to be in error, have gone even further to continue to justify those beliefs, all of the way to the national stage. Despite all of the seeming hope, there has been no connections made to the Palin's, Limbaugh's, and Beck's of the world. In fact the opposite has been true, as all who have spoken with links to the shooter have said very clearly that he paid attention to none of them. Yet this finger pointing has continued en masse. It honestly scares me that so many people are willing to indict an entire political party, with clear evidence to exonerate them. This whole story keeps being told with the full belief that somehow the Republicans are a part of this, without having had any connection what-so-ever to this case. At the end of the the attempt at justifying the Republicans to this is because somehow their behaviors and deeds could be taken and interpreted as hateful rhetoric and be used as a reason to commit violence. I am going to say today, that I have felt more hate, more anger, and more threatened by the way this story has been treated, from the national level, all of the way down to many of the individuals right here on Soxtalk, than anything I have ever gotten from the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, or anyone else on the right fringes. I have felt like pure hatred has flowed out here in the open, and been excused for no real reason, other than the same political hatred. I feel like these fringes have been held up as the same sorts of stereotypical figures that have been used to dehumanize large groups of people throughout history. Add to that the repeated tying of anyone who sees themselves as Republicans to those figures, and I feel like people here are pointing the finger directly at me, at others here, and at the entire Republican Party for acts that we had, as has been well reported, nothing to do with. And again, remember, the whole reason people like Palin get mentioned here is how people could interpret them, and how they could react from that. Well this post is here today to tell you that I personally feel more hate being created from the reaction to the senseless killing spree. That is how I interpret the media, and the talk from people about this case. It has made my angry to the point of not even wanting to talk about it, because of the insinuations that have gone on with this. Associating an entire party with murder isn't helpful, its hateful. Its as bad as any of the other -Isms that have negative connotations associated with them, for no good reason, other than to subhumanize them. If people really want to stop building the culture of hateful rhetoric, and us versus them, forget the national level, start looking in your own glass house. I know the howls of protest will follow, but at the end of the day, this is how I feel, and I doubt I am alone in this, judging by the posts from people who associate themselves with the Republicans. Thanks for writing this. And I agree with you about the vitriol being spread. By the way, you think its bad in here - its not. Read the comments sections of news sites, talk to people around you - its a lot worse out there than in here. The guy is mentally unstable. He's not left or right, he's just nuts. The fact that the Palins, Becks, etc. of the world are spewing hate (which they are, and this is where I might disagree with you), certainly creates a bad atmosphere, but they have no responsibility whatsoever in this.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 08:21 AM) It's the one to look at right now because it's at a record low value...and that's the one the Fed uses (correctly) when making policy. On the first part, its one to watch, but its still not as good a measure as the complete basket. On the second part, the Fed looks at a lot more in CPI and other measures than just Core CPI.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 08:08 AM) Although the total number has its uses, the one to really pay attention to is the Core CPI, which smooths itself out by excluding energy and commodity price shifts. Core CPI was up 0.1% in December and up only 0.8% for the entire 2010 period, which was a record low. I thought about splitting out the core, energy and auto numbers - the difference between them is definitely worth noting. I disagree with the Core being "the one to really pay attention to" though - the total price index is what really effects consumers. Core CPI is more of a study point to look at how retail goods pricing is doing, a much narrower topic.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 08:01 AM) Kind of related, and I think I like this idea... Senator Mark Udall (the Colorado Udall) suggests that for the SOTU address, instead of the parties sitting divided by party, they sit mixed together (possibly by state, all parties). I like - not only sends a good message and forces some better collegiality, but might also help reduce the stupid orchestrated crap. 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

Programmer- Also watch out for how they give you the match. My wife works for a company that, when match time comes (which they do just once a year, in January, at a variable rate based on company performance), they give the match in company stock. If you don't go in and re-allocate, suddenly, as much as half of your 401k is in one company's stock (which is of course a bad idea).

Hm, Balta got the news before I did lately. I'll try for a morning update here... 2010 Retail Sales rose 6.65% on year, versus 6.5% drop in 2009. December came in at 0.6%, versus 0.8% expectation. The year's gain was the biggest posted since 1999. December CPI rose 0.5%, the largest increase in 18 months. But 80% of that increase was due to an 8.5% increase in gasoline, which was also the biggest increase in 18 months. Food was up just 0.1%. For the year, CPI was up 1.5%, versus down 2.7% in 2009.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 07:57 AM) Apparently both years 2 and 3 are player-option years, so Soriano can opt-out after year 1 if he thinks there's better money out there for him. There won't be. And there is no way any other team was even vaguely in that territory money-wise.

Well, I sent emails to Preckwinkle's website, and the cook county board president's "Make Cook County More Efficient" page. If enough people do the same, maybe something gets done.

Oh wait, just saw this too from the linked article. The car she is driven around in is a Dodge Caravan, which is leased for $13,680 a year. That's $1100+ a month, for a f***ing minivan.

This from the county that felt the need to do things like add 2 f***ing points to the sales tax rate and build a new hospital that the whole world said was unnecessary. This is, though, an opportunity for Preckwinkle. So far as the new County Board Prez, she's actually been making some good changes... working with the board to reduce the tax level, getting rid of a bunch of political hires, cutting some budgets, etc. Let's see if she does something on this as well.

Wow. Even by the standards of Cook County, which makes the City of Chicago and State of Illinois look like models of fiscal discipline, this is amazing. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has, on her county payroll, a full time driver at 94k/year and a cleaning lady at 57k per year. Only, on her budget, they are labeled as "Project Leader" and "Administrative Analyst". The driver apparently drives her to and from work, and to her yoga class, and spends the rest of the day sitting around. The cleaner works off hours as Pappas' personal cleaning lady. When questioned about the payrollees, her response: "I'm keeping them". Now, when Braun was this brazenly stupid, at least in her case, there was no law stating she had to show her taxes. In Pappas' case, she is clearly using taxpayer dollars for her personal benefit. And amazingly, seems to have no issue with that, even when called out publically for it. Note to Illinois AG - time to dust off the laws for improper use of taxpayer funds and start prosecuting.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 01:26 PM) Fisk's double-tag? That and Uribe's dive, to me, are every bit as impressive as Calderon's catch for example.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 01:32 PM) And just to add some context to this for you guys, yesterday morning, almost immediately after I declined their initial offer and counteroffered, my biggest natural gas generator tripped offline. I basically spent $65k in the next three hours keeping the northern half of Nevada's power on. Had I not been as good at my job as I am, or been able to call in the favors I did because of the relationships I've formed, I could have easily spent double that amount. Also, if I had not been as fast as I had been, we could have gone into an emergency, been forced to shed load, and that would have REALLY cost us money in fines and public perception, etc. So after I did that, they come right back and start fighting me over a few thousand dollars over the course of a year? Just a bit ridiculous. If you haven't already, you should definitely point out that example to them.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 10:01 AM) So can you go through all this and then stay with the company in your current position? I know you said you had your eye on something else, but in what you said is such a narrow field...I'd be cautious. Good luck!! Yeah, doing this within a company, I'd be very careful unless you have an offer coming from elsewhere as well. Negotiating is one thing, but pulling away and further retracting the counter-offer you made may look bad.