NorthSideSox72

I don't mind having Pena, and I don't mind trading Allen. But I really do think Allen had more value than this.

Confused. Not seeing a good deal here.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 03:29 PM) You just have to fast forward through to the Obi Wan/Darth Maul lightsaber duel. That was pretty sweet. Best part by far.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 02:46 PM) Cleaning up their cities though will provide them environmental benefits, something they've probably taken in to account. I honestly think that's a side effect to them, a nice bonus, but not a primary or even secondary motivation. They will probably use it to make it LOOK like its a primary motivation, especially to their own people, who are living in cities with pollution and health issues that are staggeringly bad in some cases.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) Today is July 07, 2009. LOL

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 02:28 PM) You better get Barackus the Great off the damn golf course every weekend, if you want to start applying that standard. Oh, he better not keep wasting taxpayer money to go to Broadway. Or... Now, for the record, I don't give a s*** that Barackus the Great does this stuff. I really don't. But yet, the media is going to sit there and pick apart this woman's every move and rip it to shreds, while Barackus the Great gets front page headlines about being so cool to be able to do whatever he wants while running the free world. It IS hypocritical. But, I don't give a s*** what Sarah Palin does, nor do I really give a s*** what Barackus the Great does on his free time, either. NONE of it should matter, yet I've seen 5 links from AHB ripping Palin's every move. Who cares, besides everyone trying to rip her to shreds for everything she does. For the record, I do not support Palin - she needs to go away - but if the liberals keep looking for every ounce of activity from this woman, they obviously view her as a threat. Not sure if you noticed, but the governor of Alaska and recent VP candidate resigned mid-term for no known reason. How could you honestly think that wouldn't get attention, regardless of her party affiliation? Further, you keep talking out of both sides of your mouth on the media attention. You say you are tired of the media covering everything Obama does, yet you now b**** about the fact that they are following Palin after she did something bizarre and newsworthy. And finally, look what Palin did here - she said she left office to get out from under the media pressure, goes on a family vacation, AND INVITES THE NEWS TO COME ALONG. She 100% is doing this to herself, and wants it that way. Your conspiracy and bias theories are nonsense, the facts make that clear.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 02:30 PM) Oh, except 100's of coal fired plants that they have going right now. Yea. Ok. Its simple economics. China is started to heavily support the manufacture of alternate sources like solar and wind, because they want into the market (why I've been saying we need to move quickly). To support such business, clearly, China will make sure they use a lot of it. So yeah, actually, they will definitely be doing that (though not for any environmental reasons).

No way the Cubs play in Soldier, that is an utter fail. Park dimensions are not practical at all for it, stadium views would be bad in most seats, its way too big a ballpark to maintain and control 162 games at (the increased cost would be immense), not to mention the scheduling issues. They would play The Cell (schedules alternate Sox and Cubs at home anyway with only a few exceptions, and The Cell doesn't have other events to cater to), probably also sprinkle in a few games at Milwaukee or maybe even some minor league parks for the novelty of it (Cubs marketing is all about novelty).

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 02:19 PM) I stand by my love of Episode 1. How can one love a movie dominated by Jar Jar Binks, absurdly Japanese stereotype bad guys, and uncomfortably silly dialogue?

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 12:14 PM) The first two prequels did suck, but the 3rd one was really good. My favorite of all of them is probably Empire Strikes Back. Vader's NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says otherwise. All three were painfully bad.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 11:19 AM) From the "Good things that happen because of government mandates" file: the government has mandated a phase-out of normal, high energy incandescent bulbs by 2012. Normally, no money was going in to research on new types of IC bulbs because hey, energy's cheap and we can make the bulbs cheap and no one has to worry about the external costs. The government makes policy requiring more energy efficiency, and suddenly money goes in to research, and people start coming up with more efficient versions of IC bulbs to meet the standards and satisfy the people (see; this thread) who are worried about CFL's for whatever reason. The government stepped in to mandate something to better society and to force people to come to grips with the fact that there are external costs that the consumer isn't bearing (environmental degradation) and the market reacts rapidly. Impressive. This is good. You internalize externalities to the consumer, make them responsible for the costs by way of the products they buy, and you encourage innovation and more accurate views into the true costs of their choices. government stepping in doesn't always create such good things of course, but in this case, it sure did.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 11:05 AM) Adultery = slimeball in my book. You want to bang other ladies? Man-up and get a divorce, regardless of what it costs. Exactly. If you are in a miserable marriage, then either stay in and try to fix it, or get a divorce. No one "Drives" their spouse to cheat, people make a choice. However, it IS possible that they had some sort of arrangement or understanding allowing for this. That does happen on occasion, though I personally don't see that as a true marriage.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 11:03 AM) To shoot past the annoying "The free market always works and is always better!" platitude here, there is actually serious discussion out there about whether or not this statement works correctly for health care, and in this case there are a number of specific reasons to believe it does not. Here's an old but good commonly cited paper on this discussion. There are a number of particular issues. I can gather up the information on my own to decide what car to purchase, whether to purchase a car or not, etc. I can't do that for health care. If my doctor tells me I've blown my knee out and I need surgery, I can't exactly shop around for a better price. If my doctor tells me I have cancer, I don't have the option of deciding to suspend treatment until my personal economics are better. Alternatively, insurance companies have even less information; they don't know how your knee actually feels, they don't know whether or not treatment that you feel you need is appropriate; they're making decisions based entirely on their models, and their models say "It's unprofitable to insure people over 65". So we get stuck with a gaping hole in the market, no one will insure anyone over 65, until Medicare comes along and forces the issue; the government steps in back in the 60's because so many of the elderly are winding up bankrupt and in poverty because of health care costs. Another example...let's shoot back to the cancer issue. In an ideal economic situation, prices are set such that you maximize profitability without driving away customers. You have to lose some customers though, because if everyone buys your good, then you have it priced too cheaply. Standard supply and demand curves. Apply that now to life and death situations. The ideal price for a good will be the one that maximizes profits without driving away too many customers; that'd be the most profitable method right? So what happens to the people who would normally be left out? The people who don't buy the expensive item because it's more than they're willing to pay for it? Do they not treat their illness? Are they allowed to die? The Supply and Demand curve applied correctly kills people; the penalty is so high that the equilibrium supply and demand curve intersection runs almost to infinity, because you can keep pushing the price upwards as the penalties for avoiding care are so bloody high. Third, the argument you're making is obviously that "Oh, people just use too much medical care. They don't need to go to the doctor for problem x". Which in fact, may be true. If I proposed something like that though, regulations regarding when people can see their doctor, wouldn't everyone else start screaming "OH THAT'S RATIONING AND WE CAN'T HAVE THAT!!!"? That is quite literally what you're proposing as your solution; increased rationing on the basis of income. I've brought up some of these issues in here before, where the current provider-insurer-consumer model interrupts and warps the usual consumer-provider economic structure. It means that certain aspects just do not marry well to free markets. There is of course plenty of debate to be had as to whether you fix the system to fit the market, or create a system not truly in that market.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 08:49 AM) Not last year. We played well the last two games of the season, but otherwise we basically managed to stay at the top of the division because Minny was even worse than we were down the stretch. That team won 89 games. How can you not call that playing well? They weren't spectacular, obviously, but the team still had a good season.

So, I kept wondering if maybe Palin really did just want to leave the spotlight, due to pressures on her and her family. That would certainly be plausible, as there is an awful lot of it put on her. Then I read this most recent news item. She goes on a family fishing trip... invites 4 news networks to come out with them... says she is not a quitter, she is a fighter... and then explains she quit due to the pressure and time commitments. Read for yourself. She really is all over the place, and seems clueless as usual to the realities of political life. It is said in here that things like the Letterman joke prompted her to take a break after 2.5 years as governor. She didn't this to escape the spotlight, at all. She loves the spotlight, and loves putting her family in it as well. I think she may actually believe that this won't have a negative effect on future runs for office. Seriously, she is just blissfully unaware of reality.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 04:56 PM) I was surprised to find out that taking two weeks off from running actually benefited me. For quite awhile I had been running three miles a day, four days a week, and was beginning to develop painful shin splints. After taking two weeks off, I just comfortably ran a 1.5 mile around 12:20. My fear was I'd be winded more easily, when it was in fact just the opposite. It was probably just an issue of giving my legs time to heal. Still prepping for the power test? I hated that thing, and it has almost no bearing on job performance at all. There are a few departments that do something different - Lombard for example uses the Denver Test, which is an obstacle course of sorts. CPD also does something different. Palatine uses the power tests but artificially increases the standards a bit across the board.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 08:28 AM) Right but making the argument of such and such works one place so it must work here is one that comes up way too often. We are not Europe, but they are used all the time for comparison. Denmark, for example, can work a lot of social programs largely because they are a small country with a lot of high earning jobs in a place largely devoid of natural disasters and the top earners pay roughly 60% in tax. A lot of what they can do can not be done here. We're very similar to Europe in some ways, but also so very different in others you (not you) can't just say "well look at so and so, they do it so well" and expect the same situation if applied here. That's all. Just as often, I hear the argument that certain things won't work because "look at Canada!!!". Neither one sway me much.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 07:58 AM) What works in Country A does not necessarily mean it would work in Country B. But whatever. Which of course works both ways. Some things that work elsewhere would fail here, but some things that are problems overseas might not be an issue here.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 10:39 PM) The Cubs would be wise to build a new stadium, maybe out in the suburbs. They would probably be able to draw in a lot more money with parking, and make the stadium overall less of a s*** hole. Plus, they won't have to worry about the stadium collapsing and killing thousands of people. That would't be wise, that would be business suicide. The Cubs are as successful as they are, in great part, because of Wrigley. The wise thing to do would be to rebuild Wrigley in the same place, and have it be much like the old one in overall appearance (but with improvements obviously to certain areas). Basically, what the Yankees did. They would have one rough season where they'd have to play at The Cell, but, that is a small price to pay for continued financial success. If the Cubs moved to a ball mall in the suburbs, their fan draw would take a serious hit. No way they do that.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 7, 2009 -> 01:23 AM) I'm wondering what the holdup is myself. He should at least be at High A right now. Take a look at the Kanny pitchers as a whole - lots of guys doing very well there. I guess there's no room in W-S right now for them.

Recaps... Charlotte lost to Durham, 6-1. Whisler actually went 7 strong, Russell 1 good IP, then Link fell apart and gave up 5 ER in the 9th for the loss (also made an error that inning). Link has a 7.82 ERA in his last 10 appearances. Lillibridge 3-4, Lucy 2-4 with a double getting his Avg back above .200. B-Ham won 3-0. Hudson (5 IP), Brooks (3 IP) and Mabee (1 IP) combined for the shutout. Cook 2-3 w/ RBI, BB, and Shelby with a solo HR. Danks was 1-5, 2B, R, K. Winston-Salem lost to Salem, 4-0. J-Lowe gave up all 4 runs over 6.2 IP, took the loss. Morel and Gallagher w/ 2 hits each. Morel on an 8 game hitting streak, he's hitting .424 over that stretch with 4 doubles and 3 HR. Kanny lost 5-1 to Delmarva. Sauer was decent over 7 IP, gave up 3 runs but just 1 earned, walked 3, K'd 5. O'Neill had a rough inning, Remenowsky 1 scoreless IP. Phegley finally looked mortal going 0-4, KWJR had a double in 4 AB, Escobar 2-3, 3B. GF Off. Bristol beat Johnson City, 4-0. Charles Delk went 6 shutout IP, 7 H, no walks and 6 K. Bellamy 2 scoreless, 3 K. Rienzo closed it with 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K. Wagner 2-4 RBI, HBJR 1-4 hitting .120 now, Pangilinan as stated earlier homered in his first pro AB, finished 1-4.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 05:01 PM) Haha that says something that they don't even have 55 rounds. Oh that's right, I was thinking 60, but they cut it down to 50 now. Piazza and Buehrle would never have been drafted.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jul 6, 2009 -> 09:21 AM) I'm going to all three this weekend. Still keeping my fingers crossed that a certain crappy Twins OF has left me tickets again. This guys gives you free tickets and you thank him by calling him crappy?

"The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash Lucas Harrell Perfect for the injured Harrell, I love it.

I'm pretty psyched about how many good pitchers we are seeing from Kanny this year. Some were already promoted or moved to the rotations, but, look at the pitchers that were on Kanny's opening day roster, and how they are doing right now: Hudson, Sauer, Infante, Leesman, Dex Carter, Nathan Jones, Remenowsky, O'Neill, Burdie, Corely, Edwards... and now Griffith being added. Those are a lot of guys who are putting up very good numbers.