sox4lifeinPA

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jan 10, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) I will play devils advocate here for a second. If we do go to Universal Health care, and we are paying for insurance through taxes. Then should smoking and other choice vices be outlawed. Everyone knows the medical issues with certain choice vices, so why should the community as a whole have to pay for a choice that someone made on their own. In fact, lets take it further. Should you be forced to keep in some sort of shape. I mean why should the community pay for you because you decide that the hearattack menu at McDonalds and sitting on your couch is the best way to go then come in at Age 45 needing a quad bypass. How about when you are born, we do a genetic map of you to pre-determine what your diseases and tendancies will be so we can dictate a program. See where this is going. Tax Breaks for not smoking, being within a certain weight limit.....heck why not genetics? My family is VERY healthy and has a history of living well into their 80s with minimal conditions along the way. The whole concept of health care is that those who use it less pay for those who use it more. Why shouldn't I get huge tax benefits for simply caring more? If "everyone" should have access to health care...there has to be some sort of incentive for people to be healthy. Look what people do with their "free" stuff.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 9, 2008 -> 05:58 PM) The key point and the question I put to you then is...if the U.S. spends 1.5 to 3 times as much per person on Health care as any other country surveyed there, can you explain to me why the U.S. should still finish last? Answer: The Chicago White Sox.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jan 4, 2008 -> 02:36 AM) I find these cries for socialized medicine pretty interesting. I am a type II diabetic. I have been an athlete all my life, I eat healthy, never have smoked, and have run every night 5 or more miles. I am in great shape, and I am not the person you would look at and say thats a diabetic( 6'2 175). My doctor was probably just as shocked as I was. The family history is very strong, but to be diagnosed at 32 years old in the shape I was in was pretty odd. My children most likely carry the genetic cocktail that will turn them into diabetics later in life. So healthcare is a very important issue for me. I receive amazing care, I have a great medical team that helps me keep my glucose in control. I am not using Insulin, I am controlling it with drugs. The drug cocktail they give you takes time, and experimentation to get the right mix. And it always changes. One year one drug works, a few years later you need to adapt. So I can tell you honestly that the money I spend on my healthcare is money well spent in my opinion. I only have to look at my young children for a reason to stay issue free. As I have relatives around the world, some in socialized medicine countries. Their experience with dealing with diabetes and the care is not the same. They get put on a drug, and it takes a minor miracle before it gets changed if its not working. They take longer to get minor issues taken care off. For a diabetic, a minor issue one day is a major one in a few years. Do you know why a diabetic gets their eyes checked. Its not just because of the blindness issue. The arteries in the eyes and your kidneys are similar in structure. They use the eye test to gage what is going on with your renal arteries, another area that can fail over time with glucose poisoning. When you have too much glucose in your system over time, it damages these arteries. This damage can be reversed if caught in time, but if it isn't caught in time it can cause renal failure. So a simple issue can become a major one if left untreated. The idea that the care will be the same because the government will take over and it will be free is naive as well. People with chronic diseases will suffer with the level of care they will receive if we move to socialized medicine. thank you for insensitively causing a fit of "no-readsy long-paragraphy" in me.

I used to be a huge GB fan, now I listen to ESPN...I hate politics. Glenn Beck must LOVE Mitt Romney, btw.

QUOTE(longshot7 @ Jan 10, 2008 -> 06:02 PM) I like that 1234 song. And I have to come clean about something. A friend gave me the last My Chemical Romance album - I have no idea what they look like, and I've never seen any of their videos, and they get a lot of s*** from posters I've seen, but this album is great. Good fast catchy songs - what more do you want? It's in major rotation on my ipod. Feist is pretty good. Her "hits" gave me false hopes for AMAZING albums, but she's good nonetheless. All of the albums I received over the Christmas break either by friend's, gifts, or downloads: Andrew Bird "Armchair Apocrypha" Eisley "Combinations" Jimmy Eat World "Chase this Light" Feist "The Reminder" Aqueduct "Or Give Me Death" Belle and Sebastian "The Boy with an Arab Strap" " Dear Catastrophe Waitress" "The Life Pursuit" My Morning Jacket "Z" Neil Diamond "12 Songs" Camera Obscura "Let's Get Out of This Country" Wheat "Hope and Adams" The Shins "Wincing the Night Away" "Once" Soundtrack pretty much happy with all of it.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 7, 2008 -> 12:29 PM) Alright scope this. I bought a house not too long ago and with that came the unfortunate loss of the exercise room at my apartment building. Basically, I can't excuse the expense of exercise equipment in my house, and want to find other alternatives for weight loss. I went on a weight loss craze and got down to about 185 on the treadmill, but now I'm up to about 200 lb on my 6'1" frame, and I'd like to, when all is said and done, be at about 175. WIth weather conditions this time of year non-condusive to outdoor running, I play ice hockey three nights a week, though with a recent ear injury have to take some time off the ice so that doesn't help. Anyway, what are some good workouts one can do at home without equipment to flat-out lose weight. I believe I am going to start doing stair sprints from the basement to the main level, but any other suggestions would be great for weight loss (not concerned with building muscle just yet). I'm sure the stairs will help with the expanding ass, but what about the gut from college? I do have some barbell free weights that can go from 15 - 35 lb, though again im not concerned about building muscle just yet. Again, I'm not an idiot, I know situps/crunches can help, just looking for creative alternatives that will keep me somewhat entertained. Also, best practices and amount of repetitions for the normal exercises (see situps/crunches) would all be appreciated. Thanks in advance. I bought a mini stepper from walmart for $40...that helps with a little indoor cardio whilst the weather is frightful. Muscle, as some others have suggested, will actually aid you in the weight loss department. As a fellow over-weighter, I came across the "abs diet" from men's health a while ago. It's really "easy" and has helped me lose 17 lbs (along with healthy eating) over 6 months. I highly recommend it. If you want an excell spreadsheet I made (nerd alert) I can email you the attachment with the exercises explained...(basically it's a bunch of exercises with free weights, so your dumbbells are perfect). and as for your weight goal...I would be a refugee if I only had 175 on my 6'3" frame. My goal weight is 225.

razor blade cereal.

cool. I'll work on PMs to you guys and we'll organize links.

This just happened at work: I just had a really neat racist guy just tell me to please pass on a message to my bosses about removing the “English” or “Spanish” option on the ATM because bi-lingual-ism is destroying America. Apparently it’s a “soft issue” that our programmers should be able to fix. Wow, who knew? Apparently, old racist guy did.

QUOTE(knightni @ Jan 8, 2008 -> 12:56 AM) Axis and Allies is a good game to play 72 hours straight on just coffee, coca-cola, pizza and chips - no sleep. I spent a 3 day weekend in college one time playing one game. the computer games assists in the quickness department of that game. I highly recommend it. setting up the board game took like 2 days of advanced notice

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 4, 2008 -> 04:38 PM) So, using T9 texting, just type the word "roids" into your phone. If your phone is as cool as mine, it's kinda funny. type in "means".... mine comes up with "boner"

QUOTE(BearSox @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 02:51 AM) writers or no writers, Conan is funny as hell... that is all. totally agree. I read this stupid article on EW.com that said Letterman will gain in popularity because of the writer's strike (because of the deal he's worked out independently.) the only problem being....HE'S NOT FUNNY.

Predictions: Clinton Obama Edwards Huckabee McCain Romney

QUOTE(mreye @ Jan 3, 2008 -> 09:39 AM) Tex and Jim should chime in on this subject. I'm sure they know all about Social Security payments.

Quick SS Calculator tell me how you get a 2k check with that calculator. I see people with the last name Smith get 1k, and people with the last name Pho Duc get 2k. I can't believe it's simply about income.

there's more to it than that. is there a social security payout list somewhere that shows what you need to put in to see what you get out? that'd be interesting.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Jan 1, 2008 -> 03:07 PM) It kind of felt like velcro... so you have a mustache too? did she have the loops or the hard scratchy side?

This will probably end up in the Buster, but I'm too lazy. How on God's green Earth do "permanent residents" come in and cash 2k in checks each month? What are they doing to earn that? Is it a deceased spouse from a war? loop holes that some how minorities know about and no one else? anyone?

hey, just a thought, but perhaps those of us with websites might be able to provide links to help boost each other's page ranks. any takers? I have 3 sites that I'd be willing to take a few links on.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Jan 1, 2008 -> 04:14 AM) if you get the time pick up a copy of HARD CANDY. She'll blow you away. meh. it was "edgy" but the whole film seemed forced and taking itself WAY too seriously.

QUOTE(shipps @ Dec 31, 2007 -> 12:47 PM) I have been wanting to see it because Iam a fan of The Frames and I heard alot of their last album was in that movie. I think what makes it so great is that the "guy" and the "girl" aren't professional actors and 99.9% of the shots are handheld, so you feel more like you're watching snippets of two people's lives if you were just passing by them. It's very refreshing and natural. (turns out that Glen and Mara are great friends in real life before they made this movie...and you can tell.) easily a 5 out of 5 for me.

Has anyone else seen "Once"? it was a fantastic little film. loved every minute.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Dec 29, 2007 -> 01:22 PM) DJing a lame party in PA. awesome, where at?

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 28, 2007 -> 08:18 AM) So I've had a wicked bad head cold since about Saturday, and last night I tried to pop my ear to relieve pain... the ear popped but pain was even worse. Then, magically the pain stopped and I kind of heard a "thud" in my ear. Now it feels like I have something in my ear when I don't. Anyway, I'm 99% sure my eardrum burst... has this happened to anyone? From what I read on the net, it seems to be a wait it out type of thing, so I'm thinking I won't go to the docs. what? surprised I beat jim and tex to that joke....

NYC for drinks and chinese food with friends.