iamshack

QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 01:28 PM) I doubt the bootloader will be locked down, you can probably run whatever you please on this as long as it uses industry-standard components and an x86 architecture. If it's ARM-based, it becomes a little more complicated. The device itself looks great, but $1300 is a bit steep considering Google usually sells all of their hardware these days at either zero profit or very little profit. However, considering they are putting in a 2560x1700 (pretty much the MacBook retina display) touch display, $1300 actually doesn't seem like it's THAT much money. The MacBook Pro 15' with retina display still costs $2000 and that doesn't have a touch screen. But then again, it also doesn't run Chrome OS...lol. Edit: this thing has an Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM. So as long as Google doesn't lock the bootloader, you can probably put Windows or Linux on this thing, provided they open source the drivers so it can be ported to other operating systems. From what I understand, Apple doesn't believe touch screens on desktops or laptops are ergonomically-sound features....and I think they are right...who wants to hold their arm at that angle for any period of time when you could just use the keyboard/mouse/trackpad? I think touchscreens are brilliant for a device that is handheld or meant to be laid parallel to the floor/desk, but not a screen that is perpendicular to the surface...gravity doesn't agree with that very well.

Very nice, SS! I have a ton of Ikea cabinetry that I think I would like to leave in the existing space because it will go from being a kitchen/laundry area to just a laundry/utility/mud room. I would like to just leave that all in place and use it for non-perishables. Then I am hoping to move the kitchen out into the main living space so that it becomes more open and functional, and good for entertaining. Therefore, I will need more cabinets. However, I don't need a million high-hanging cabinets, since we can use some of the existing ones in the other room for non-perishables. So I'd like to use a lot of base cabinets for underneath the countertops, with a few high hanging ones, but then create some open shelving on the wall above a glass tile backsplash. I have seen this in a lot of photos and I think it looks nice, is functional, and will save me thousands on cabinets. I have an amazing range that came with the house...it's a 6 burner gas stove with a hood, but the fridge is a really old subzero unit that is built into the other room basically. So I'll probably go with a new side-by-side unit from Bosch, along with a new dishwasher and microwave. SS, mind telling me what all that ran you? If not, no worries. Also, did you do much, if any of the labor yourselves?

So the girlfriend and I have decided to give up on our house hunt for now and just have her move into my place. One of the reasons we did not want to do this before was because my kitchen layout is terrible, and the main living area is not particularly well-suited for entertaining at the moment. Instead of buying something, we're going to just address the needs of my house and plan to stay there for a few years at least. Last night I had a kitchen designer come by to take a look at the house and take measurements to give me a design for how to address the shortcomings above...bad layout and difficult to entertain. We discussed some options, some materials, concepts, etc. She told me I would need to buy a new fridge, microwave, and dishwasher. She wants to put in quartz countertops, and some cabinets with a bamboo veneer over them, and then I want a big wide undermount sink. I want a huge island that can be used for prep and for seating on the other side, so I am a bit concerned about the price of using quartz for that. Anyone go through any of this nonsense recently? Ideas? Thoughts? Words of caution?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) I don't think anything above 120HZ matters if you're not going 3D, at least for LCD's. So much of this stuff is just spec-sheet wars that don't really matter. I try to read the cnet.com reviews to sort through the spec nonsense...I feel like they have a good handle on what stuff you can actually appreciate in terms of a viewing difference. There are two 70-inch models available from Sharp...one that is 120 hz and non-3d for like $1700, and another that is 240 hz and 3d for about $2700...I've read the cheaper model is crap...I would love to save the money, but you don't buy a tv that large and have it suck, or skip during sports or action scenes. I think I am going to spring for the 3d model...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 12:27 PM) My buddy just did, 600hz I believe. Havent seen it yet. I've been eyeing one from costco for some time. Probably waiting till I move. 600 hz is crazy! I went and looked last night at Best Buy...I figure if I buy the 70 inch, I may as well just spring for the 80 inch, but the 70 inch seems much more impressive form a spec standpoint...240 hz and 3d for $1200 less than the 80 inch 120 hz without 3d...I really, really want it...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 08:11 AM) Can't make it this weekend, but I'll drop a donation. We're looking for a puppy, too, so I'll check out the available adoptions. Oh, tell us about what you're looking for in the pet thread! I have a chance to play in a charity poker tournament at Caesar's through work...I'm a bit nervous about making a fool of myself, but I may give it a shot.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 09:11 PM) A little over a year ago, I was at 240 pounds and my goal was to get to 199, where I was my senior year of high school right before baseball season started. On February 7th, I reached that goal. It was an incredible feeling of achievement for me. Congrats! That's amazing...keep up the good work!

Been painting my house...lost about 10 pounds in 4 days. Who needs a workout

Speaking of tvs, has anyone sprung for one of the 70 or 80 inch flatscreens yet?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 11:30 AM) Heh, I don't let others install any of my electronics. I do it all myself. I do all my own wiring, etc...but yes, Crutchfield is good. I just don't need them. They are also really overpriced, are they not?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 12:15 PM) For that type of thing, sure...but I'm talking bigger appliances and tv's/electronics. If you order a tv from an amazon vendor and have to return it for some reason, I pray for you, because that would definitely be a massive pain in the ass.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 20, 2013 -> 12:03 PM) Seriously, I order stuff like windshield wiper blades on amazon. They'll be at my door in two days whereas I might put off going to the auto parts store for a week or two. I rarely return anything, though. Yeah, me too...usually stuff I order from Amazon, I've already extensively reviewed and researched. Not like tshirts or something. I just ordered $500 worth of dog crates and beds for my dogs on Sunday morning. Stuff started arriving yesterday...these are 50-80 pound metal crates that I only had to pay $30 to ship because of Amazon prime and didn't even have to leave the house to get. Pretty convenient.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 18, 2013 -> 06:45 PM) A friend of mine was stopped at a red light, blinker on, waiting to turn right. When the light changed to green she started her right turn and a bike ran into her. The cyclist was not on the road when she pulled up, he turned onto the road from a side street. I've been researching who has the right of way and can't find anything specific to Texas. In California it seems that cars are expected to pull into the bike lane to make their turn (surprised me I thought cars should never be in the bike lane.) He was basically passing a car that was in the process of turning. When she started the turn he was behind her. If bikes have all the same rights as cars, then if cars stay out of the bike lane, cars would be turning through a traffic lane. The cop who responded basically said the cyclist was at fault, but that the report just outlines what happened and would not comment on right of way. One would think the car has the right of way in that situation...I couldn't imagine a car would be expected to turn through incoming bike traffic from the rear...it would make sense for the car to use the bike lane in that instance and the bike to yield (or perhaps pass the car on the left) until the car made the turn...otherwise, imagine if a car was waiting to make the turn while the light was green and the car had to constantly check his mirror to make certain there were no oncoming bikes trying to pass on his right from the rear....that wouldn't make any sense.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 04:29 PM) No, it's evidence that they believe they will SOMEDAY justify that draft pick and be a worthy player in the NBA. They may not believe they can help them much that year. Is there some data that can be provided which shows that college freshman are more successful in the NBA that those drafted out of high school? Ultimately, the teams in the NBA will make their risk tolerance whatever they want it to be. I'm not sure why we need to set it for them in this very minor instance, without any data which suggests it is necessary.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 04:15 PM) Baseball isn't really comparable because they can bury guys in the minors for years and hope they develop. The financial investment is also significantly lower. The bonus slot for the #1 pick in baseball is $7.2 million and they're not going make significantly more than that until they've played at least 3 years in the majors. For the NBA, the payout over the first 4 years on the #1 pick is over $20 million, and they don't have a minor league system that allows them to play and develop. So instead, they use the NCAA as a free minor league system. All the more reason NOT TO SELECT HS players! I'm not sure why you are acting as if the teams don't have their own free will or something, and need an arbitrary rule to keep them from f***ing themselves.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 04:07 PM) And those moves largely backfired, so they decided to get those guys out of the draft. If they're in the draft pool, you're going to have to evaluate them and try to take the best course of action. There's no magic number you can use to say "well, this guy is worthy but this guy isn't." You could determine that someone that has not played above the high school level was too big of an economic risk to bother drafting. Just like some MLB teams will often times practically refuse to draft high school players in favor of college players. It is a decision that can clearly be made by the teams themselves, simply by refusing to take the risk.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 03:54 PM) Um, yes? It's extremely difficult to project what an 18 year old playing against inferior competition is going to do at the NBA level. Even if you determine that they're one of the best 20 or so high school players in the country, there's a huge difference between similarly rated players from year to year. Your "elite" SF might be Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony, or it might be Harrison Barnes or Darius Miles. You just don't know, so they made the rule to get their scouts out of high school gyms and focus on guys that are more likely to help them when they join the league. But the point is that the League and its teams have decided then, by obvious action, that the risk was bearable, by continuing to draft those players! This is why banks determine risk thresholds. Imagine if there was a law which stated "no bank can make a mortgage loan to anyone under a 750 credit score." The institutions themselves determine where the appropriate thresholds should be by their own individual risk tolerances. The teams should be able to do the same.

How about the notion that the if the NBA recognizes that drafting high school players is too big of a risk, the teams figure that out themselves and stop doing it? Allow market forces to determine what the League or its teams are willing to bear financially and what they aren't. As for the barriers to entry, I completely agree with Badger. There is not one justification currently being made that can be at all supported by data to suggest this rule actually accomplishes anything. If the drafting of these kids hurts the overall quality of the League, like Badger said, allow the League and its teams to devise protections for that. Making an arbitrary rule which hurts individuals from gaining entry is placing the burden on those that are the least well-suited to bear it. Usually, the law requires that burden to be placed on the individual or entity in the best position to bear that burden, generally. The mere fact that an individual can simply sit at home and age a year and then be magically qualified to enter the League, whereas he was not before for some reason or another, is evidence enough of it's inequity.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 14, 2013 -> 09:51 AM) Tesla pushes back strongly against a recent NYT review of the Model S where the car supposedly ran out of charge much earlier than dashboard instruments said it would. http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/most-peculiar-test-drive That's a pretty awesome car. I guess we have a special electric vehicle charging rate between 10 pm and 6 am. I want.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 13, 2013 -> 07:36 PM) Yeah. Grass in Vegas. Amazing. Also stupid...I checked their water usage...they used 445,000 gallons of water the last quarter! I had plans to rip half of that grass out...

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 13, 2013 -> 06:01 PM) That is s***ty, they must've gotten some really nice offers or something for that big of a jump. Apparently the owner's business manager stepped in and thought they didn't ask enough because of all the attention it got once it hit the market.

Wow...they delisted the property and are intending to re-list it for an additional $75k. What a dick move.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 11, 2013 -> 08:56 AM) Pretty sure that is normal of Popes. Pope John Paul II spoke 8 languages fluently Well yeah, they don't work a day of their lives!

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 12, 2013 -> 10:13 PM) You bid the offer, they should take your money and run. You'd think...I think their concern would be where it would ultimately appraise...we think the property is well-worth it; in fact, I think they are idiots. If they had a broker that could market this house correctly, I think they could have found many cash buyers in California for well over this listing price. They just didn't know how to sell the home. So they may be fearful it won't appraise for list and just take a cash offer at a level where they believe may be above what it would appraise at. But as far as I know, that offer has not come in yet...of course, the house has only been on the market for 3 days now, which is why I don't know why they would want to give us an answer thirtysome hours before our offer expires...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 12, 2013 -> 05:04 PM) i'm on the googlez, creepin ur house They told us they'd have an answer for us in the morning. The offer doesn't expire until 6 pm Thursday...as of this afternoon, they had no other offers... Not sure if that is good or bad...going to be an anxious night!