Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 18, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) Definitely agreed about teachers. Granted, most of the girls I hang out with are bat s*** crazy but a lot of them are teachers and complain about their job day in and day out. On a side note, we are all b****ing a lot today as well. *quickly posts a rant about Soxtalk rants on Facebook* My wife and I have, I think, tolerable Facebook habits: me, none, unless someone posts a picture of me at an event/party. Her, Facebook stalks the cool kids from high school that became fat/ugly/have awful careers and occasionally throws up pictures of our son but only about once a season or for special occasions (first time playing in leaves, first birthday, sees Santa, etc.), and it's only one or two pictures at the same time, not one a day or 400 in one day. And vacation it's usually one picture of the two of us with something cool in the background. I've never checked in. I've never taken a picture of food. I've never provided a single status update. And I maybe have told one or two people happy birthday and responded or replied to a comment someone made that included me. Other than being able to share a photo with friends/family, Facebook is awful. And it's making society awful. We're already a self-absorbed bunch and it's just getting worse.

True. I'm only a few episodes into Orange is the New Black and I now get all the hype.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 12:53 PM) Amazon prime isn't quite as user friendly imo, the apps aren't as clear. However, they both have roughly the same content but Prime gets you 2 day shipping. Either one is a really good option. That's not really true. Prime still has probably 10% of what Netflix has (even though Netflix isn't the greatest either). You really have to get both depending on what you want to watch. I wouldn't get just Prime if they're never going to take advantage of the 2 day shipping. Not enough content to justify the cost unless you have a few specific shows you want to catch up on (Downton Abbey, Justified, etc.) Ended up buying my wife a laptop last night at Sams. About $830 for an ASUS N550JA-SB71T. 15.6" full HD touch screen, Intel Core i7-4700MQ, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, backlight keyboard, and some other standard stuff (cd/dvd drive, webcam, SD card reader, 3 USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, etc). Pretty good price I think. I was going to get her the Acer S7-392, supposedly one of the best ultrabooks available, but couldn't really justify an extra 3 hours of battery time and maybe a pound or two for 4-500 bucks. Especially since she will probably only use it at home to surf the web and do some work on the weekends. I've been really playing up the "we don't need a laptop" card the last week or two, so she's going to be really surprised.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 02:10 AM) Very bold move by them, although the writers may have been right when they said they tested this scenario midway through the season and the audience didn't seem to mind it much. I don't think they had a choice.

Sony has done a better of job of drumming up interest by making their product less available. Xbox clearly overestimated how many people wanted their system. I thought it was kind of weird too that Amazon didn't get a huge ps4 order like they did with the Xbox One.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 09:03 AM) So it keeps getting better. Blue Cross first told me that my current plan was ending and I needed to sign up for a new plan, which would be about a 15% increase. Then they say I can keep my current plan for another year. Great. Just got a rate increase on my current plan if I keep it. Basically my 2-month premium becomes my monthly premium, the rate is more than doubled. Hey, it's your responsibility to pay more so that others can have insurance.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:11 PM) How many people in this thread actually baked some cookies or wrote a letter to those families? Show of hands, come on. Let's see some proof of this empathy. I know none of you did. Know how I figured that. Name the dude who shot up the school. Now name one kid who died in the shooting. Right. The fact is nobody cares about the kids. You care about the horror, the spectacle, the villian, the story... but in the end the victims just last in your mind as a number. If you actually cared you'd do something about it, not just b**** and whine. You'd help someone affected, you'd make an effort that maybe required some sacrifice on your part. That's what caring is, folks. You invest yourself in something, what the f*** have any of you pretending to be on some moral high ground invested in the aftermath of that tragedy? Some posts on a message board? A conversation at work or amongst friends? Essentially nothing. Just like me. Face up and admit it, this is a political issue for you and has been since you first heard about it. Cut the bulls*** for once. Lol OK. So I shouldn't own guns because of my opinions. Alright, I'll ball. How are you supposed to take them away? Where's your warrant to break in and take them? Or does the 4A no longer apply to me because I hold the wrong opinions? Might as well skip the trial, torture a confession out of me then strap a gag order over my face for life. Because I don't deserve rights since I don't agree with Balta. This hints at a larger issue that these collectivist state worshippers really don't believe in rights. I mean, if you're a perfectly law abiding tax paying citizen who is content just sitting in a cubicle all day being ultra productive that's fine. He has rights because he's already under control. He's a good little slave and since he's been so good you'll hand him the illusion that he can do what he wants, knowing full well the most he'll do is maybe get a DUI. The state and its corporate f***-buddies still come out way ahead. The real reason you don't want me having rights is because I'm not so easily controlled. And I know what I'm saying here speaks to everyone here on a level you aren't willing to admit to. So label me an angry nutjob and hopefully you can defame my character enough to discredit what I actually have to say. Because these thoughts, that all of us have, are absolutely fatal to your political ideology of control and repression. You sound like BP after that rig blew up in the Gulf. Tip: come up with something independent that you didn't glean from Upworthy of some other liberal cliche generator. This reads like a corporate PR team loading up on the buzz words the public loves in anticipation of releasing it as a Hallmark "I'm sorry" card after they get caught pumping mercury into the water supply. This is all absurd. Name me the hijackers of the 9/11 planes. Or the thousands of Americans who died that day. Did you sign up for the armed forces to defeat our enemies? No? Oh, well you must not care and you hate your country. I think I understand your general point (as with most of your other posts) despite your pretty clear misunderstanding of the definition of "care." I can agree with you that often times people use tragedies to further their own agendas and/or they act with faux outrage so that they SEEM like they care more than they really do. I accuse people of that all the time with their white guilt when it comes to racial issues. And we live through that all the time here in Chicago with all of the violence that continues despite so many people "caring" about it. But Sandy Hook? Really? You don't think people care about that? That they're not concerned about that? People care about a gunman going into a school full of helpless children and murdering them. People recognize that's a tragedy that should not happen in a civilized world. People don't need to know the victims personally or provide charity to prove that they care and understand how horrible that was for those kids and their families and their community.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 09:25 AM) No, Bears still have to win the game. And the Lions won't lose to the Giants. They are terrible. Bears need to win 2 to get in IMO.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Dec 17, 2013 -> 09:12 AM) I'm sick of hearing about QB 4th quarter stats. 4th quarter come backs and stuff like that. Has to be one of the most overrated stats. If you are good in the first 3 quarters, you don't have to lead comebacks. See above re: their defense. The game against the Broncos was a perfect Romo game - be absolutely stellar for 3.5 quarters and then make a mistake that "costs" your team the game. Everyone forgets the awesome game, everyone remembers the costly interception. Keeping Romo long term was one of the smartest moves Jerry Jones has made in a long time. Without him they win 3-4 games a year at most.

Saw a bunch of Xbox One's at Sams this weekend. Still haven't seen a PS4 anywhere.

He's one of those guys that has too much intensity. He needs to dial it back and think about the bigger aspects of his game. BTW finals week is the worst part of the season. I hate going like 15 days with only two games.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 12:39 PM) That game definitely showed some promise, it was just very frustrating to watch nothing happen on offense the last 10 minutes. This team can be scrappy and play tough, and I think Groce had a nice game plan, and usually will. It's just really tough relying on these freshman to pick up slack if you have 1-2 of the upper classmen struggling. Not having any experience at all off the bench is going to be interesting come BT play in a couple weeks. Can I have the Egwu from the Miami game back? Hopefully Abrams can show more consistency, too. Defense should always be able to keep us in the game, sometimes we just won't be able to score enough, or more specifically, make enough jump shots. Yeah Egwu needs to start playing better offensively. I get that Groce wants these guys to drive and dish, and they're good at doing that, but Egwu needs to at least seem like an offensive threat. And he needs to learn to set legal screens. He got away with a few in the Oregon game and still had 2 offensive fouls on screens.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 11:14 AM) Why should I really care? So I can formulate some self-serving political motive I can brag to my friends about? Maybe a way I can passive aggressively attack the rural culture of America? None of it ever comes from a place of truly caring about anyone. The closest you get to an actual magnanimous thought regarding this are the people who just want to stop seeing it on the news (but they paradoxically watch that crap religiously). Its all fake outrage exploited by those in power to score some more control for the state. If you actually gave a s*** you'd do something. And by "do something" I dont mean raising awareness or similarly useless tripe. You'd send those families some money, you'd volunteer to offer some support to the siblings... s*** if it effects you that much write them a letter expressing your condolances. But you do NONE of that. It shows you dont care, at least I have the self awareness to admit it. First, have a kid and you'll understand. YOU don't have to care, that's your prerogative. But saying that other people are only pretending to care is bulls*** and just wrong. Second, people did care enough to act. A lot of people did. A lot of people sent money, cards, gifts, food, etc.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 10:52 AM) And McCown didn't benefit from some of those too. GMAFB. He did, but he also didn't throw it up in double coverage at the 2 yard line. He threw it in the back corner of the endzone.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 08:01 PM) Everyone keeps putting words in my mouth and making s*** up. Tell me where being terrible is acceptable - because I can see the rationale of him getting a 3rd year? Nice leap. We've discussed how as long as he was here for year 2, you're not firing him for year 1. You're judging your post-year 2 decision on year 2. Considering what we saw in year 2, it's really not hard to comprehend why he has year 3. I can certainly see the future being brighter next year. Will it for sure? We'll wait to find out. I'll hope like hell it turns around next year. Not because I give a s*** if Beckman is the coach or not (I've said multiple times I don't think he's the answer), but because it'd be better for the program if I'm wrong and it turns around quicker next year. Most of you won't admit it, but deep down you hope it's a f***ing tire fire next year so you can just jump on here and say haha told you so Beckman sucks you shouldn't have supported him, etc. You wouldn't know what the f*** to do if they actually won 6 games or looked competent. No, see the bolded is where I get that you think losing is acceptable. The dude won one f***ing Big Ten game this year, and even then he had to purposefully take a safety at the end just so they wouldn't have a fluke chance of losing at the end. That's how scarce a win is for this program. How is that an improvement over last year? One win is all you need to bring him back another year? I asked you before what you saw that improved this year. Yes, the offense looked better and by all accounts that was Cubit. Nearly everything else was the same or worse. I'd love it if they were good. But I also fear we're getting back into the Zook scenario WITHOUT the added benefit of creating one of, if not the most talented rosters in the entire conference. He'll just be a lame duck coach year after year because they'll win A game or two, make fans like you happy that they're showing "improvement", but still not recruit well enough to win. I think next year is going to be the exact same as this year - offense will be good enough to win, the defense won't. They'll be at 4-5 wins. Does he get fired? Who knows. If not, the future still doesn't look good because there isn't much talent there. If he does, we wasted a year of rebuilding.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 10:00 AM) I hope the Lions lost tonite simply so we can see what this team does with their destiny in their own hands. I mean, if they win out, that could play pretty big going into the playoffs. I know momentum is as good as your next play, but we have seen teams every year go on runs into the playoffs and carry it through. We have to hope that the addition of Briggs and maybe Tillman in the playoffs would help stop the run a little. Ratcliff seems to be improving the d-line. Safeties are still awful though. They'll have to score their way through the playoffs. Can you do that on the road at Seattle?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 08:37 AM) I think it was fairly obvious last night they just didn't have the horses to compete down the stretch. Only Rice was going to do anything and Oregon knew it. They became the Bulls - everyone stand around and see if Rice can score and if not the possession is over. Which is dumb because Abrams took over the game at multiple points to regain or extend their lead. He disappeared at the end and Oregon was able to close off the paint and that was that. I think they'll continue to get better and be a pretty tough out by the end of the year. Their offensive execution still isn't great. But they are very good at rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, and defense. Beat Mizzou and it's a decent non-conference season with good wins (@UNLV. N-Mizzou), a "good" loss (@ORE) and a "bad" loss (@GT). They'll have plenty of opportunities to finish in the upper half of the big ten and get into the tournament.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:43 AM) There are concerns about restrictions on the mentally ill discouraging people from seeking help when they need it out if fear of losing their guns Hadn't thought about that, but that's something to keep in mind too. I just don't see how you implement it. Obviously someone who has been diagnosed would be easy to restrict, just like a felon. But if Balta believes Duke shouldn't be able to have guns because of his opinions, how do you stop that?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:31 AM) I'm never going to believe that a person who is 18+, not a convicted felon, and not mentally ill shouldn't be able to keep firearms in their own home. Beyond that, I believe there is serious need for reform in order to keep firearms out of the hands of minors, felons and the mentally ill. Most states already cover minors and felons. I agree with you on the mentally ill, but I also think it's a pretty dubious task. You're still going to have Sandy Hook style shootings because there are just evil people in the world.

Jay was lucky as s*** Jeffrey made a circus catch. Otherwise it'd be 7 days of talking about his future.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 07:34 PM) He's going to be coming off a 2 month layoff. I doubt it. And their defense still blows.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 16, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) No. You should be helping me support policies that keep people like him from developing their own private arsenal. You've heard of one person spoiling it for everyone? It's right there. Your position here is bulls*** though because you honestly believe all guns are evil and no one should have them. This isn't about some "reasonable" restrictions that you want that Duke refuses to agree to. You're the same extreme as Duke just on the opposite end of the argument and with a little more tact.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 15, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) They need to stop that end-around with Jeffery, it hasn't worked since early in the year. That's what sets up the pitch to the RB though.

Yep, franchise QB there.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 13, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) For comparison, this kid was just sentenced to 15 years in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed two other teens. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/f...4#ixzz2nOOsl2Q3 It says "30 months to 15 years." Wonder what that means.