NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 20, 2008 -> 02:33 PM) Oh darn. I just remembered that's the date of my bachelor party. We'll all be at the game to start off the festivities of our adventurous night. How does that stop you from playing in the softball game earlier in the day?

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) I'm not overly concerned with the actual cost vs. ROI in and of itself. I know that it's not really that cost-effective of a thing to do, and honestly I think I'd do better to replace my furnace with a more energy-efficient model first to lower my energy bills. I figure my house will probably cost $15k to do with an inverter to do with solar shingles and net metering (39 states do that and Maryland is one of them) and this is what I see with the limited research I've been doing: -$3000 estimate of the roof replacement I'm going to have to do anyway in a couple years -$2000 grant from the MD state government (I'd have to apply, and wait a couple months) -$2000 local county property tax credit for the year I install (estimation) -$2000 federal income tax credit ...So, figuring the cost of my roof itself in there, that is $7000 right off the bat that I'd get worth of credits from the state and federal gov't. A lot of people are just simply not aware of the tax grants and credits. For those interested here is a link: http://www.dsireusa.org/ The math can be pretty complicated if you want it to be, but with some relatively simple math, you can get very close to a real Payback Period value. And that's the key measure, to me. The data you really need to get the math right: --Tax credits and timelines, as you noted above --Cost of equipment (FYI - panels are lighter than you'd think, you don't need structural roof work for them, unless your roof has problems already) --Your current periodic energy costs, annual would be best --Costs of keeping your electric service on with zero use - there is a cost to this --Whether or not your utility does, or will do, net use billing --How much solar availability there is for your exact location and angle of panels (dictated by climate at location, but also sun/shade exposure through solar arc) --How much energy each cell puts out per solar unit of exposure --How many cells you'd buy, or could effectively fit on your home --Risk free return for the period based on capital investment --Period of ownership for your home, and with that, value of solar system as an addition to the home at sale With all that, you could come to a solid payback period number, in years/months.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 01:31 PM) BTW not sure if this fits exactly in the thread but I'm seriously considering putting some solar shingles on my roof or something. It costs a lot of money though. When we buy our new house this year, I'll be researching that as well. The good news is, there are some companies who are now developing PV cells that are far more efficient than the stuff that's been out there until now. That makes it worth it for a lot more people. But there are multiple pieces of bad news - the initial cost is large, the new cells are not yet on the market, and many utilities don't yet to the net use thing (which makes having solar cells much more beneficial). Still, even with the bad news, we are rapidly approaching the point where it will be worth it for many mainstream folks. Its worth sitting down some evening, doing the research, and then doing the math. Figure out your payback period, and make sure to include a safe-return number in there.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ May 20, 2008 -> 02:31 PM) Will I still be allowed to play if I also play in the WSI game? Yes, but you will be made to wear a silly hat.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) I admit don't know that much about economics. I can understand simple things, like "the gas tax holiday won't work" or "India and China are getting industrialized and they are pushing worldwide demand up" or "printing more currency weakens the dollar." After that I'm kind of a n00b. You cannot buy an oil contract in the futures market without someone selling it to you. You can't sell it without someone buying it. The amount of contracts in the market can fluctuate a lot, but the number of contracts bought versus sold is always identical.

I have before, and still do, applaud Obama and others who have the balls to confront leaders we disagree with in a way other than war. If this Bush Presidency hasn't made it clear that dialogue is a better alternative than bully pulpit bullying, then I don't know what would. Saying you won't talk to leaders of Iran or other rogue states doesn't make you tough - it makes you a coward. But here is the thing. Ultimately, I'm willing to bet that the number of countries that Obama and McCain are willing to "talk" with is almost identical. Probably only a very few differences. I think McCain is more of a diplomat than he is showing right now, while he is trying to drum up the conservative base. And I think Obama will be tougher thatn he's being protrayed, when he's done drumming up the anti-war liberals.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 19, 2008 -> 09:56 PM) Obama may want to pay VERY close attention to this poll.. In a survey conducted in New Mexico by Survey USA, a Obama / Edwards ticket ran strongest against any possible McCain ticket. In fact Obama / Edwards was the only combo to beat McCain. Funny that poll doesn't include the guy I think is most likely to be VP. And he'd pretty much guarantee a New Mexico win.

Just curious how regular posters in here feel about the threads, particularly Pinned ones, going forward. Choose which way you'd prefer. NOTE: The second question you can choose multiple options!

To me, grades are partly about expectations going in. So here are mine... A: Pierzynski, Quentin, Floyd, Danks, Contreras, Jenks B: Crede (B-), Dye, Hall, Anderson, Vazquez, Linebrink C: Swisher (C-), Ramirez, Dotel, Thornton, Logan, Masset D: Konerko, Uribe, O-Cab, Thome, Ozuna, Buerhle F: MacDougal INCOMPLETE: Wassermann Based on what I thought of their chances coming in, those are the grades I'd give. I think Wassermann needs a few more outings, but if he continues to get bombed, then he fails and goes to AAA like MacD. The good news is, I think Konerko, O-Cab, Swisher and MB are all likely to rebound. But some of the A's and B's may fall back a bit.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 20, 2008 -> 12:02 PM) Doubt he's ready for that yet. Probably not, but you never know. Car camping is like a gateway drug. Next thing you know, you're hiking some unmaintained trail through the wilderness in a foreign country for reasons you don't really understand.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 20, 2008 -> 10:51 AM) I liked that movie as well, I read it was actually written as a trilogy(it seemed to me that he hurried the end). I dont care much for Lady in the Water and The Village, but I like Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable. Agree on all. I thought Signs was his best though.

Also, there are some nice camping and hiking opportunities around Oregon, Illinois, along the Rock River. If you ever want info on more backcountry stuff too, let me know. I can give you a ton. As someone said earlier, in the midwest as a whole, Boundary Waters is one of the best. But you can actually get even better experiences, with less people, in Quetico Provincial Park, which is on the Canadian side. Also look into Isle Royal, Voyaguers, and Pictured Rocks. But those are all more than 6 hours' driving.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 20, 2008 -> 11:53 AM) So my GF and I decided this spring to become more out-doorsey and see this beautiful land we call the Midwest. I just "booked" a camping/hiking trip to Turkey Run in a couple of weeks and am looking for some input from anyone out there that's a big camper/hiker. My goal is to go camping at least one weekend out of every month so long as the weather is bearable. There's only a few stipulations: 1. the destination is within 3-6 hours of Chicago (so that we can leave on a Friday mid-day and get there in time to set up camp for the night) 2. we have a dog and she loves the outdoors so if possible the park needs to allow pets 3. we like to wind down by the fire with some brewskies, so alcohol must be permitted as well I've heard that North Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin has some good trails. Anyone have any suggestions?Any other place to go with cool trails? I could write a book on this. Here are some recommendations, based on the type of camping you mention... --Kettle Moraine, either unit (North or South), are great. Both allow for all of your requests, the North unit is further from Chicago, but less crowded. --Starved Rock, a few hours downstate, is also pretty ideal for car camping, though its pretty heavily used in summer. --My fave weekender spot for car camping is the Yellow River State Forest in Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Its in the NE corner of the state, about 3 hours from Chi-town, and its just plain gorgeous. Its in the river bluffs near the Mississippi, in the driftless area, and parts of it have an almost Colorado-like feel. I did a weekend out there years ago with a reporter from the Trib, who was doing a feature on nearby camping destinations. Lots of hiking trails, streams with trophy trout fishing, and you can do pull-up car camping or camp in the backcountry. All in, amazingly, Iowa. Here is a link to the site for it. --The Indiana Dunes state park is also fun, nearby, and has beaches. But it is also a bit crowded at times. --Another great camping area which gets minimal traffic, has car camping in a few places, and has great hiking trails is Black River Falls. Its a state forest, and a state park. Here is some info on it. Really neat, pretty area. I'd recommend Yellow River or Black River Falls.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ May 20, 2008 -> 10:54 AM) IMO, I think it's pretty simple really... There is a GOP forum and a DEM forum...leave em as just that. The GOP forum is for the guys on the right.....It will have biased GOP articles and all the DEM bashing one can hope for. If you don't like it...don't come in here. If there is something posted in here that irks you soo much...then start a new thread in the main forum and discuss it. The DEM forum is the same way. If you want to post in there, Bush is the devil, that's your right and I'm not gonna come in there and try to convince you he's not. If you had made a whole list of reasons why and I didn't agree with it or thought it was filled with lies....then I would start a thread in the main forum and those that wanted to be part of the discussion would. The problem I see is Dems can't handle a differing opinion. If it's different from theirs then it's absolutely wrong and they can't let it go. They have to make a post and convince you why it's wrong. That's just how I see it...and the posts in this thread, from the first page to the last, kinda back that up I think you are on the same track as I am, up until that last graf. Then you had to put "Dems" where "Strong party backers from either party" would have been more accurate.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 20, 2008 -> 10:37 AM) Speculators do nothing but drive up the costs of resources in certain situations, these costs rarely, if ever, benefit the food companies or farmers. Take the prices of rice right now, speculator driven, alongside oil, gold, etc. Before these drastic price increases I didn't see farmers, food companies, or jewelery companies going out of business... So I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with you here. Speculation is good to a degree, but this is and has gone way WAY beyond the degree of sanity. So perhaps I should rephrase. Kill all the vultures in the commodities market who are ultimately preying upon the poor, because there is no excuse for these prices anymore. The supply/demand curve is being completely ignored in these prices. It just makes no sense at all, this is market gambling at it's WORST. Oh, and I can't wait for this bubble to burst. I love laughing at newb speculators who sunk their 50k (or whatever small savings they have) into these ventures and wind up losing it all to the billionaires that didn't want them there. You can't have speculators without hedgers, and vice versa. One needs the other. Otherwise, there is no liquidity in the market. That's the reality of commodities markets.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 20, 2008 -> 09:17 AM) Kill all commodities speculators. Fixed. And bankrupt half the farmers in this country, as well as all sorts of food companies. That would be a very bad idea.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 09:16 AM) What do we do when we see an argument in either thread that we want to challenge? That's what I am asking about. We can either just let people do it in each thread, like we are doing here... or, we can tell people to start a new thread for that topic.

Just FYI to folks in here, once the Dem nomination is sealed up, we'll probably re-organize the pinned threads a bit. I'd like some feedback on how these threads should work. I've been thinking we should make the GOP Only and DEM Only threads be truly that - any discussions that are prompted by posts there should be started as new threads or put elsewhere, maybe just a link to the original post. How does that sound to people? Or should we just let them go wherever they go?

Assuming that this is because he basically missed a whole season of playing while injured, then this early rustiness isn't too big a deal. He'll probably bounce back. But, if this is somehow related to lingering issues with the back, then I'd start to worry.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 16, 2008 -> 07:43 AM) Well then I guess I am more like you. Unless NSS has something to say about that. Oh I'm an ugly old fart. But at least I'm a moderate.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ May 16, 2008 -> 07:32 AM) I'm calling it on May 16th. My prediction is that Obama wins this thing rather easily. As we're seeing in the congressional races so far this year, in strong Republican strongholds I might add, people are tired of the negative campaigns and fear mongering. Obama's message of change will win out. This is an obvious "change" election cycle. I know we're all sick of that word but it's showing to be true. I think the key will be turnout - and that is something that no poll can really indicate. From the GOP side, the question is, can a McCain candidacy bring out the hard core conservatives to vote? If not, then just hand it to Obama. From the Dem side, can they continue to get the massive new voter totals in the general? If not, they will have a tough time winning the right states to make the electoral math work.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 15, 2008 -> 12:54 PM) I called it pop as well. Seems like Utah, New Mexico and North Carolina are all having identity crises.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 15, 2008 -> 09:51 PM) Coke in London/Paris/Rome is AWFUL. blasphemy!!!

Box scores galore... Syracuse 1, Charlotte 0, bottom of 2nd. Broadway not looking as nasty so far, but its early. B-Ham 1, Jacksonville 0, top of 3rd. Richard dealing again. Winston-Salem 0, Lynchburg 0, through 1 inning. Ely's first inning: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K Delmarva/Kanny has been postponed due to rain.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 15, 2008 -> 05:19 PM) Rasner's been put on the DL. It should be Dubee going tonight. Levi Maxwell was promoted to W-S from Kanny. Good for Maxwell, but, what happened to Rasner?