Rex Kickass

I once contemplated changing my name to Rex Kickass legally, as it would look amazing on a business card. Then my name was changed for me on this board. Good thing I never said anything about wanting to change my name to Luscious N. Delicious.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 18, 2008 -> 10:13 AM) I think I need a new avy. I'm taking suggestions. Have at it. Bea Arthur.

4.29 at the BP in Brooklyn. Good thing that I'm down to one fill up a month.

Do I go see Ted Leo or Brian Wilson tomorrow?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 12:14 PM) who said that? i mean there are people here defending Schumer or any Democrat on the banking committee as if they didn't do anything wrong. but anyone who knows about this should be blaming the GOP the most. You did actually. You were the one assuming that Schumer did nothing when in fact, he did work towards some sort of solution. For all I know, because I haven't spent the five minutes to do a google search, other members of the Senate Banking committee may have done work as well. But never let a thing like research get in the way of mediocre snark!

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jul 15, 2008 -> 08:55 PM) haha he's on the committee. he should have said something or done something. i do like how you guys are defending him though. He did actually. Sep 2007 May 2007 So its not like Schumer was suddenly vocal on this issue last week. He's been talking about it and trying to do something about it for 15 months, whether or not his actions are correct is not something I can tell you.

Oil is now down 15 dollars from its high. Did we see the top, or is this just momentary correction?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jul 15, 2008 -> 05:21 PM) Another question, where was Schumer and the Senate banking committee when this problem was developing? Asleep at the wheel, as usual. And this is the government we are going to trust with covering all these companies? greeaaat When many of these mortgages were being doled out (1/03-1/07), I believe the answer was not in charge of the Senate banking committee.

If you're going to go up to an observatory, do the Hancock before the Sears Tower. Although the observatory is slightly lower to the ground, it offers the better views IMHO, especially across the lake.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 12, 2008 -> 04:27 PM) Anyone else getting annoyed about pouring money into their 401k's and seeing the value still drop? This has been a rough year. I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz... Its just a buying opportunity... its just a buying opportunity... its just a buying opportunity I feel the same way.

R.I.P. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,381250,00.html

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 06:56 PM) At the municipal and sometimes state level, yes. At the federal level, no. If we were realistic, it would because we would stop using the Social Security trust fund to make our deficit less severe than it really is.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 04:09 PM) No need for taxes to go up at all - not sure how that would happen with an efficiency program. And if it actually is done well, people can have MORE pet projects. I think when people are "hated" for cutting government waste, its because they really aren't cutting waste. They are just arbitrarily cutting budget. Big difference. The problem isn't the programs, most of the time, it's the debt.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 10:23 AM) And you're the guy who gave me guff about liking that "lollipop wine" Beaujolais nouveaux ?? Seriously, are you talking about a food and drink pairing or about mixing in a cooking sauce. I can certainly see that combination in a sauce - like a Thai peanut sauce or something to put over baked fish. As for a food pairing, peanut butter anything paired with Auslese or Kabinett sounds like it would be great. I'm a sucker for the uberfruity dessert wines though (see "lollipop wine"). It's not lollipop wine. It's wine flavored Kool-Aid. I was eating peanut butter pretzels and drinking wine. Cheap wine.

Use an ATM. Traveler's Checks are useful still in less developed cities, but you'll be able to use your ATM anywhere in Ireland basically, and the exchange rate is better than any cash exchange or traveler's check exchange you can have. However, I would also recommed getting about 50 Euro or so before you leave, just enough to get out of the airport and any place you have to go... just in case.

He'd play in Atlanta. He really really really hates cold winters.

The Tour took a hit for me when they sandbagged Landis in 2006, and I seriously think that they did - I do really respect the spectacle. I'd love to see Cadel get the Yellow jersey. Also kind of a fan of George Hincapie too but having lost 10 minutes today, I think he's pretty well out of the running at this point.

Here's the problem. When you have a candidate who actually follows up on his promises to cut waste and make government "solvent" again, they're hated. Because either your pet project gets cut or your taxes go up, or both. And then you hate that governor who did exactly what you asked. If you don't believe me, look at New Jersey.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 11, 2008 -> 12:24 PM) It does go beyond inflation and valuation, yes. As you say, some use it as a hedge. But I think this needs some perspective here - the price of oil is not being driven primarily by the dollar. Its a factor. It isn't the primary motivator, but I do think the weak dollar may be responsible for 15-20% of the current valuation.

But more than the price of inflation. Oil is a pretty standard hedge against a weak dollar these days. My uneducated guess: Oil stays 130-150 in the near future. If Bernanke raises interest rates, oil starts to trend back down towards 100-110.

I understand that. And I think what the union grievance may be pointing towards is that the city may be honoring its contract with the VFD, but not the DPW.

This is my 10,000th post on SoxTalk. I thought I would explain something special to me for this post. It's why I'm doing the Empire State AIDS Ride this summer. Last summer, me and another friend both had HIV scares. My friend, let's call him John, had gotten sick with what he thought was Mono. His doctor also ran an HIV test, just to be sure. He tested positive. It turns out that his former partner was having unsafe sex with other men at the time they were dating, and passed it along to John. I'm doing this ride for him. Shortly after his test, I had a scare myself. I lucked out, and I tested negative. But it was the scariest week of my life, waiting for those test results. I decided that I would do something to make a difference when it comes to dealing with this disease. So, I decided to ride the Empire State AIDS Ride. I know that a lot of people can be helped with the money that I'm raising. Including, hopefully, my friend John. So this is why I'm doing the ride. And I hope you can support me with a donation. Click securely at the link on my signature to donate anything you can to help fight HIV/AIDS together. And thanks.

Peanut Butter and White Wine are not a great mix. Yet I can't stop mixing.

I'm catching bits and pieces on Versus, but I don't watch much. Two Americans in the running though, George Hincapie (a little under 2 minutes back) and Christian Vandevelde (in 4th place, about 44 seconds back.) Anyone else watching?

And all Dan Patrick is doing is the highlight show anyway... doesn't seem like there's a lot of there, there.