iamshack

QUOTE (WhiteSUX @ Jan 28, 2011 -> 08:50 PM) Just wondering what you guys think of your team this year? Talent to win it all, middle of the pack, or Kansas City Royals bad? Here in Minnesota we expect to win our 3rd consecutive division title and think we have the top talent again this year in the Central. Congrats on the Jesse Crain signing. Jesse likes to get highlights in his hair so he and A.J. should get along just fine. They do nothing on the field and eat up alot of payroll so they already have alot of chemistry. I like our roster versus the Twins roster this year. Of course, I like our roster every year versus the Twins roster. I think the Twins are the favorite again until proven otherwise.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 28, 2011 -> 09:21 AM) Study finds rampant painkiller abuse among former and current NFL players. Troy Aikman was also on the episode of Real Sports last night, and he was talking about how he really thinks the long-term viability of the NFL is coming into question, and he was very concerned about it. There are a whole lot of health issues that are really, really scary if you're an NFL executive right now.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 06:55 PM) This is likely but Al isn't looking good these days. He might not last 8 weeks himself. Oh my....what the hell is wrong with him?

Holy cow! Has anyone seen Nate Newton lately? Saw him on HBO's Real Sports tonight. He's down to 213 pounds and completely unrecognizable! In a good way!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 11:18 PM) After reading Intel's press statements, it does sound like it's just a marketing thing. Which is probably better than actually having him with any sort of creative control. It's just the 2011 version of an endorsement deal. They mentioned Lady Gaga does the same thing for Polaroid. I'm sure she has a ton of creative input...like what hue of pink their next camera will be.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:39 PM) So what level of discourse does calling a guy in a video a retard accomplish? Again, use your own standards. The discourse was in the body of the post. Perhaps you should read it again.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:38 PM) No, I replied because, again, you are in the middle of another argument. I said days ago that this is exactly what would happen, and lo and behold it did. And yet no one has gotten hurt or died. All the women and children are safe.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:34 PM) Not really. My point is that he is specifically talking about what you said and why he thinks it's invalid and you think it's a personal attack. I don't know why you think it's a personal attack but it's not. Calling someone's argument garbage is totally fair game. That is half the point of debating. Hell, you are doing it right now. No, it simply isn't. The point of debating is to argue the issues and elements. Nothing is gained by stating "your argument sucks." And if that is perfectly acceptable, then wonderful. The level of discourse here will only improve if that becomes a widespread habit.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:29 PM) Use your own reply. No, it's not. I did not respond to his post here. I was commenting on an outside source, and the manner in which he was holding a glass in a YouTube video. It's not even close to the same thing. Secondly, you are so obviously targeting me because you have nothing better to do. I don't bother with you or your posts, and yet you are obsessed with mine. It is obviously some personal mission of yours. Why don't you just let the other admins address any issues they might have with my interpretation of the rules and put your personal feelings aside.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:27 PM) You just called the guy in the video a retard. Is he posting here? I will gladly apologize to him.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 09:21 PM) Someone telling you your argument sucks (regardless of whether it's true or not) is not an insult. The distinction is just a way of insulting me to get around the rules. It's the same as saying your wife is "acting" like a b****. Gets the same point across while leaving an escape to back out of. "I didn't say you were a b****, honey, just that you were acting like one." It's semantics. For the 900th time, Cutler's doubters aren't insulting anyone else or their arguments. His supporters in this thread are being beyond defensive. Wonder why.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 10:14 PM) Analysis and thought is the opposite of a meatball. Drinking presumably good beer out of a fancy glass doesn't make you a meatball. You're just mad because your argument is about as good as someone saying the earth is 6000 years old. Here we go again. Enough with the insults. I'm not mad at all. It was a joke. The point still stands that the video pointed out nothing.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 07:10 PM) If he wants to drink beer when he makes Youtube videos when he is narrating over game film (he does, in basically all of them) that's his prerogative. Of all things to criticize him for... that? It's just very typical Bear fan, that's all. Why do you suppose he is doing it? I'm not criticizing him, I'm just finding it ironic that this is the guy I am supposed to be impressed by after being called a meatball by a lot of people on your side of the fence in this debate.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 06:58 PM) Roy is like the polar opposite of a meatball. Even if I accept that, and let's face it, does he really need to be drinking a beer during his 5 minute video, there was nothing there that proves much of anything. In fact, the more I see that, the more upset I am at the thought of him getting pulled out of the game.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 07:52 PM) Dammit. He'd look great on the Oakland sidelines. For about 8 weeks. Then Al Davis would fire him.

Oh come on, Lost...there is nothing there that shows much of anything. Cutler throws the ball from whichever position he wants most of the time, so it's pretty difficult to argue when he might have started using poor footwork because of an injury. The first play of the second quarter shows me nothing to indicate an injury might have occurred. He makes a slight motion as if to try and pull his sock up. Yes, he may have gotten hurt with 4 minutes left in the half. I can buy that one. And you guys want to talk about meatballs....this guy is filming in front of a red velvet sheet with a snifter of beer that he's holding like a retard.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 04:59 PM) Those forms are basically so people can't skip out on paying taxes on large winnings. The IRS wouldn't really have any other way of documenting or knowing that you won $200k at the tables but didn't report it. Right. I'm not trying to say that people pay taxes for table games winnings often. I probably have won $10k or so last year on football and blackjack. I won't pay a dime for any of that as additional income. So for most of us, in a practical sense, he is correct. But if you are a big time player and you routinely are cashing $10k+ at the cage, you better believe it the IRS is going to come after you.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 26, 2011 -> 06:46 PM) Why keep any player with a salary in Cleveland? They suck, and their future isn't for years. I can see them hesitating to deal Sizemore. Seems like it would be a tough pill for the fans to swallow. My guess is they would love it if he regained some value though in the first half and then unloaded him at the deadline for some pieces that could actually be worth something in the future.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 02:40 PM) Gambling Tax Laws http://www.casinogaming.com/features/taxlaws.html The IRS form W2-G is issued to players and is also sent to the IRS by the casino for certain gambling winnings: (1) winnings of $600 or more from state lotteries, horse racing, dog racing or jai alai and other wagering transactions, if the winnings are at least 300 times the wager; (2) winnings of $1,200 or more from bingo and slot machines; (3) winnings of $1,500 or more from keno, less the amount of the tickets bought on the winning game; (4) winnings of $600 or more from horse racing, dog racing or jai alai, if the winnings are at least 300 times the wager. W2-Gs are not require for winnings from table games such as blackjack, craps, pai gow, baccarat and roulette, regardless of the amount. Casinos and card rooms are subject to the "money-laundering rules," and must report aggregate cash transactions of $10,000 or more in any one day to the IRS. They also can make out such reports for amounts as low as $2,000 if they are suspicious. Once a casino has your SSN and ID on record, they can issue these Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs) without your knowledge. The W2-G is the form the casino has to submit. The reason they don't submit them for table games is because table games pay you in chips, per win and loss, and thus, they don't keep exact win and loss totals. You then take those chips to the cage, where they pay you in cash. If you try to cash more than $10k I believe, they have to submit forms to the IRS per those money laundering rules. However, you are still supposed to report the winnings as taxable income. And if you show up as cashing $10k worth of chips at a casino, that is certainly going to set off some alarms with the IRS. IRS

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 02:49 PM) the only time gambling winnings are taxed (casino-wise) is at slot machines. If you win $1000 at the Craps table, roulette wheel, poker game, card game, etc, it is not taxed. You are also not taxed at slot machines if you win (2) $500 jackpots. You're only taxed if the immediate payout is greater than $799 or something like that. (it varies per state i think) So what I'm proposing, is that all deposits/withdraws are regulated thru a Paypal-like government run system (to also track money laundering) so anyone playing any type of on-line gaming, is taxed on annual winnings (net surplus) exceeding $600. At the same point, I'd seriously stiffen the penalities of anyone caught using a non-us government regulated gaming website (cayman islands betonsports.com or a local bookie, etc) and call it tax evasion too. As for the sale leaseback piece, we only here about the income statement side of the federal government. We never hear about the balance sheet side. The government may have built a building in downtown NYC for $2 million back in 1930 that's worth $50 million today. It's an asset. Sell the asset to a landlord, take the cash and start renting the property back. (if its truly needed) At the same time, you'd eliminate any out of pocket expenses of owning vs renting, can take the $ and use it to pay down other capital debt. (with the rental expense as an operating expense) I'm not sure about the Illinois rule, but here in Vegas, you certainly can be taxed at the table games. It's just that they do it at the cashier, and they do it at certain thresholds. I believe it's $10,000. You can defeat this, however, by cashing your chips in at different times in smaller increments, the same way you can defeat other federal tax schemes.

I have to admire Jay here. I would have punched this guy and wound up in jail...

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 27, 2011 -> 11:09 AM) Krakow has a more vibrant art and music scene from what I've read. And wonderful ham...

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 09:24 PM) At least my post wasn't filled with downright bad ideas like yours was. And if you can't think up the reasons why it'd be bad to "just trust the voters", then I really have no need to enter any further into such a conversation with you. But isn't that what we are ultimately doing anyways? Why have a vote if we can't trust the voters?

Started watching season 1 of Spartacus: Blood and Sand Very Frank Miller-ish in the style...lots of blood and nudity. My kind of show...

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 09:38 PM) They would have the braces on the sideline. It is strange that they didn't have him in one. I was at the game and when they reported he had a knee injury, it was the first thing I looked for. It is possible they tried him with it in the locker room at half time and he was still unstable even with it. This whole injury deals more with instability not pain. If the brace didn't make it stable enough (if they tried one and I can't imagine they didn't) the coaches and medical staff wouldn't let him go back in. I just can't understand why they wouldn't have had him in one on the sidelines just for precautionary measures.