iamshack

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ May 3, 2013 -> 12:05 PM) @LuolDENG9 It really upsets me that everyone thinks I would miss a game bc of the flu. I've played a lot of games w the flu in my career. On Wed I was taken to the ER and my symptoms indicated I may have meningitis In order to play on Thurs I was required to undergo a spinal tap As a result of the spinal tap I suffered the worst headache I've ever experienced and been the weakest I've ever felt. Yesterday I was unable to walk or even get out of bed. I made it to the UC and was sent home. This morning my symptoms worsened. Now I'm back in the ER where I may have to spend the night... I want my teammates and Bulls fans to know I would NEVER miss a game bc of flu Ugh...sounds like he'll likely miss game 7... This is getting out of control...the frustration from Rose's absence is spilling out onto other players...who now feel obliged to justify their own absences via twitter. Ridiculous.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2013 -> 04:57 AM) Floyd is the kind of pitcher if you don't have in your rotation, you are looking for someone like him. Or have we all forgotten the White Sox fifth starter derby's? True, but the tantalizing talent he has is just so frustrating to watch...for whatever reason, I found it much more difficult to watch him than I did Contreras...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 01:46 PM) Quick thought: what happens to you if your electricity provider's payment website is down and you need to pay to turn your power back on? I don't know...these are all the type of things that need to be worked through anytime a new program is introduced. Honestly, I think prepay is a fine idea for things that are not necessities, not so much for things that are. However, utilities should still be allowed to collect for services rendered. No one claims the oil companies should have to put gas in your tank for free if you don't have any money...I also understand that the industry business model is such that utilities have a practical monopoly, so it is a bit different...but that is a function of economics more than anything else.

Here is the sales brochure for another company's prepay program: APS Prepay

QUOTE (Jake @ May 2, 2013 -> 12:30 PM) Lord, I've never seen a player get such unfair treatment from the media. Jay Cutler is one of the toughest players I've ever seen play for the Bears. Seriously. Just imagine the outrage if this were Cutler and he was cleared to play and he wasn't coming back...

Well done, Jake. Only thing you could have added was the blurb about Wilbon calling out Cutler a few years back.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ May 2, 2013 -> 10:11 AM) I've fallen in love with the Tesla S I'm hoping the price gets lower in the next 3-4 years when I'm looking at cars again. My office has 5 super-chargers in the parking lot for our employees so that would be super convenient as well. Yep, they're pretty awesome.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 08:17 AM) Not in our area yet. Some funny hysterics in Naperville over them, though. We've had all kinds of outrage here too...we also have a program for smart thermostats that allow you to control it via the web...I think the two tools combined will really go a long way towards improving your ability to control your usage and spending.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 08:11 AM) Do they compare it to people who pay traditionally but can monitor their usage in the same way and get a "running bill" amount? I'd use that for sure. No, but you will be able to monitor it if you have a smart meter...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 07:56 AM) Lower-income people might not have regular internet access, cellphones or smartphones (to reactivate if it goes out). Like I said I don't see anything wrong or malicious about it. It's not an option I'd take but maybe it is advantageous for some. That was my response as well...these people are going to be checking their usage with their prepaid cell phones or what? I guess if I was a single mom and I had to decide between food and electricity sometimes, this might allow me to have more flexibility with my cash, rather than running my air conditioner all month, then getting a bill for $300, having to fork over all of it to keep the power on, and then not having money to buy groceries... Apparently the data we have does suggest though that users that pay this way tend to use less energy than when paying traditionally.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 07:51 AM) I know gas companies allow customers around Chicago to spread out costs over the year instead of having huge bills in the winter and low bills in the summer. Do the electric companies not offer those types of plans? Yes, we offer basically every kind of plan there is. And we are not allowed to turn off the power of people using medical devices which require electricity...I think there are some other regulations in place which protect the elderly and children, but I am not exactly sure on that.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 07:47 AM) I don't see any problem with it being an option, I just don't understand why someone would take it. Is it offered at a discount, like pre-paying for a rental car is? Is there any buffer or warning, or do you just hit your quota and bam--the lights shut off? Yes, we are required by law to provide at least three warnings. I believe you would get a message when you've used half, 3/4, and then closing in on 100%...you could also get daily updates or up to the minute updates via cellphone or computer. There is no discount, they pay the same rate as regular customers...I guess the discount is in the form of no deposits and no re-startup fees or whatever.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 2, 2013 -> 07:36 AM) People pay large deposits? Is that something heavy users or businesses do? I've known that there were some pre-pay options but never felt a need to do anything about it since my electric bill doesn't change all that much from month to month. Yeah, if you have bad credit or a history of not paying your bill... I think in the southwest and the south, where there is a lot of menial labor and a cash economy, as well as big swings in utility bills because of the oppressive summer heat and the mild winter temps, some lower income folks struggle with it.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 2, 2013 -> 04:05 AM) Tinfoil hat? Huh? i just meant that the power company is going to receive the money upfront, probably a 60 day swing between pre-pay and post-pay Billing cycles. I don't really see the benefits of it from the consumer side. I really don't either, unless you are cash-strapped...apparently there are a lot of people that pay their bill in cash and struggle to pay their bill...which means it then gets disconnected. In order to get it re-connected, they have to pay a pretty sizable deposit. This allows them to have more control over the entire process. However, electricity is not like cell phone minutes. It's pretty much a necessity in modern industrial society. I don't think the majority of people are going to want to deal with the potential of having their electricity turned off because they ran out of kilowatt hours...even though service can be returned in minutes by putting more money in your "account." But the programs have gotten a lot of positive feedback in other areas.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 07:54 PM) ...how am i going to pay for more without electricity to get on the internet? What's the benefit for the consumer? Seems massively in favor of the power companies. You use your smartphone, or you don't wait until you actually use up all your money? The benefit is you don't have to pay large deposits. Consumers also seem to enjoy having the ability to track and control their spending better. The analogy used by the power companies is usually to gasoline in your car...would you want to pay for electricity similarly to how you pay for gasoline? Apparently consumers in prepay programs use 10% less power on average...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2013 -> 07:23 PM) Define it? Well, with smart meters, utilities can now easily track and bill for electricity usage. They can also start up and shut down electricity remotely, in minutes, rather than sending a crew out to do so. A pay as you go program would allow people to pre-pay via the Internet and track their usage up to the minute. If they used up all their prepaid electricity, it would be turned off remotely until they paid for more. There would be no credit checks, deposits to turn power back on, or late fees.

Pay as you go electricity....good or bad?

QUOTE (Brian @ May 1, 2013 -> 01:49 PM) Heard that Britney Griner came out...after the NCAA tourney. Never made a big story of it. Is it more acceptable to be gay in the WNBA? Remember, not all wnba players look like Brittany Jackson. It's more acceptable to be a gay woman.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2013 -> 12:07 PM) So...the Elvis impersonator was framed by the guy with the Tae Kwon Do studio who purchased the castor beans required to make the ricin on Ebay using his Paypal account and processed the stuff in his studio. Pretty much exactly how I figured it went down...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 11:58 AM) For this to be profitable (and it is, massively), somebody is losing out. I don't know how much this actually applies to any customer-driven trades. My understanding is that it's entirely algorithms, which is why we such things as the still-unexplained flash crash or the "white house bombing" crash the other week. Well, the folks that are losing out are the trading firms that still try to utilize the old school methods. I don't know that either one is necessarily right or wrong...I just know things have changed dramatically in that industry.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 11:25 AM) By the way let's not pretend that there aren't still racist policies that impoverish minorities today http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/07/12/wel...ination-charge/ Good...Wells Fargo is a bunch of assholes to everyone...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:46 AM) Agree 100%. Especially the part about it being difficult to agree with anything I said! Absolutely policy is important; that's the goal. But you don't get policy without getting awareness and support, without pointing out these inequalities and getting people to agree with you that they're morally wrong and should be changed. I don't see where I've eschewed pursuing better policies and programs. I wasn't necessarily targeting that towards you...but let's face it, liberals as a whole recently have been big on promises and short on the will to effectuate them.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:28 AM) What's our modern urban housing policy besides gentrification? How equal are the educational resources between poor and middle-class or wealthy neighborhoods? Or the economic resources? The social resources? How do you correct generations of systemic, intentional impoverishment? There are still millions who lived through these recent policies or who are the children of those who did. Hell, racist housing/mortgage lending is as recent as the last decade. How can you pretend that people are given equal opportunities to succeed? It's not as if the systemic inequality issues caused by poverty have recently disappeared; they've only gotten worse in the past few decades and are barreling right along that same track. You're really projecting the classic "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" mentality. It's difficult to disagree with any of the points you make. But you obviously realize these changes don't occur overnight. This kind of systemic historical oppression does not suddenly disappear one morning and everyone is given equal access to all of the above things you mentioned. The long journey does actually begin with a single step. Hopefully that isn't interpreted as advocating more progress more quickly would not be appreciated, but these things take a long time to unravel. Attitudes take time to evolve and change. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Yes, you can continue to point out all the inequalities, but ultimately, does that correct them more quickly than actually trying to advance the policies and programs that seem to be successful? I'm not really sure...

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 1, 2013 -> 09:20 AM) I don't think anyone would argue that this stuff didn't happen in the past. But it doesn't happen today. It doesn't happen in Chicago where a great deal of the political leadership is black. People in this City and most of the country are given every opportunity to succeed. It also doesn't mean that those currently living in poverty shouldn't do their best to try and improve their lives rather than using the oppression of the past as an excuse. I do realize it is pretty easy for me to sit here and write that though, not having experienced that oppression or not currently living in poverty.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 1, 2013 -> 08:35 AM) How high-speed traders are exploiting loopholes on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412..._LEFTTopStories Not sure how this is supposed to benefit anyone but those wealthy enough to buy this sort of access in the first place. One of my exes was telling me a few years ago that this is where the market was heading...that ultimately, whoever had the best algorithms could get the buy and sell orders in seconds ahead of real traders. In looking at some of the hiring in that area recently, they have been looking for folks who could design those very algorithms.