Jenksismyhero

Caught up with last weeks Revolution and The Last Resort. I think Revolution is actually getting better each week. I've said before the flashbacks are a really cool story telling device, and they're using them well. Getting the back story of these characters, and some of what they had to go through after the black out, really adds to the show. The Last Resort....meh. I want to like it, but the idea is just so ridiculous. And they hit the heavy with the XO's relationship way too early. Lots of crying and i'm left thinking "I don't care about this, someone blow some s*** up."

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 10, 2012 -> 09:27 AM) @MMehtaNYDN: Jets owner Woody Johnson on CNBC: "Are we going to keep Tebow? Absolutely. He'll be with us for 3 years." #nyj Translation: "Of course we're keeping Tebow! Bad publicity is still good publicity! People haven't talked about the Jet's this much since...well, ever! We have a bat phone directly to ESPN's top brass. How cool is that?"

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2012 -> 09:16 AM) If he really wanted to be honest, he would just admit he is taxing everything in the site to pay for the budgetary disaster that is the City of Chicago. Not to derail this thread, but I am a huge fan of Emanuel promising no tax/fee increases with a 5 billion budget deficit that will grow even more next year. If he can "find" or shift around 5 billion dollars in the budget this City is more f***ed up than I thought.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 03:36 PM) For sure, that way when the gang jumps you, not only can they steal your wallet, they get a free gun too, just hope that they dont shoot you with your own piece. Guns for all, guns for all! Its really not as simple as pro-gun people try and make it. Because no one believes that we have an unlimited right to weapon ownership (otherwise I should be able to buy a rocket launcher to mount on my tank), thus the question is, where does the risk of gun ownership outweigh the benefit of gun ownership. My personal opinion is that its in public. Youre right to protect yourself, should not trump my right not to be shot accidentally. If you are so afraid, dont go in public. But let those of us who arent afraid live. First, i'm not aware of an epidemic where gang members are robbing lawful gun owners. I guess show me that's a problem and I'll buy this "justification" to raise taxes. Second, aren't you afraid of getting shot? Why don't YOU stay inside and not go into public if you're so concerned about the 1 in a 500 zillion chance of being shot by someone using a gun to protect themselves? I'm all for putting reasonable restrictions on guns. But I don't think that should be done through taxes which we all know is a bunch of bulls***. Emanuel should come out today and say he's implementing a 1% tax on car owners because of the car jacking problem we have in the city. That makes about as much sense as this gun/ammo tax.

Here's a way to curb gang violence - punish the law-abiding gun owners! http://www.suntimes.com/15644719-761/cook-...ammunition.html

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 12:02 PM) Unbelievable... Today's Republican Party FTW Or just one crazy guy who happens to put an R next to his name.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 9, 2012 -> 08:43 AM) I know Balta has mentioned this before, but there's another study out linking lead exposure and mental/psychological development problems: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-k...ol-performance/ No more #2 pencils!

Boardwalk - Great. I'll agree with Joe that it was a LITTLE slow with those cellar scenes, but that was all a perfect set up for the "oh s***!" moment at the end. Homeland - I lot of coincidences for that episode to work, but I'll allow it. Another great episode and I love that they dropped the hammer with that Brody video in episode 2. Changes the whole focus for season 2.

Yeah I tried the free version last night, and also got a free N64 emulator too. All of the NES/SNES games I downloaded work great, but not all of the N64 roms work right. Mario Tennis, for example, is really choppy and slow, but Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Ocarina, etc all work with only a few minor bugs. The next step is to get my ps3 controller connected. Unfortunately I didn't buy the dock for my tablet, so there is no USB for me to use. I'm not really sure how i'm supposed to get the thing connected without it. Also, for anyone that wants to use their phone as a hotspot, I found an amazing app called Open Garden. It uses your phones bluetooth to connect to your tablet and gives you internet through your phones data plan. $0 is much better than $20-25/month Verizon wants.

Hmm, interesting. I guess that means the bump is pretty meaningless

Pew has Romney up 4% now: http://www.people-press.org/2012/10/08/rom...es-obamas-lead/

QUOTE (Tuna @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 01:41 PM) The problem as I see it, is that gang members have no regard for tomorrow. I don't know that they all truly believe that they "won't make it past 21" (although you'll hear that from every one of them), they just put off dealing with their actions until they are in the hospital or prison. I have had a grown man bleeding in my arms after being shot tell me he doesn't want to die, so I call bulls*** on anyone who says they've accepted that. It's really easy to say I suppose. This is a problem that started in the 1960's/1070's and has gotten worse with time. You can tell your kids about making bad choices all you want, but if they grew up their entire lives watching you go to prison, then they think that's normal. Neighborhoods like 24th street have gang members that are third and fourth generation. They watched their father, uncles, grandfather, etc...live this way and they looked up to them. There's no after school program that's going to correct that. There's people a lot smarter than me trying to figure out the solution and unfortunately I don't have any ideas to help. The best way I can explain it is when your 20 years old and know that you're going to be 35 one day, but it doesn't truly hit you until you turn 35. You make decisions when your 20 not caring about how it affects you at 35 because 35 feels like it's 50 years away when it's actually waiting for you around the corner. Yeah I think parenting is the key. Kids in those area have no good role models, so they just follow what they've grown up with. Throwing money into community centers and whatnot doesn't seem to be doing anything.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 02:00 PM) Latest Gallup poll - Obama +5 When was your latest? The latest I see is even. http://www.gallup.com/poll/157907/romney-n...debate-win.aspx

Agreed, thanks for being so open Tuna. I've had some exposure to gang members while working for the states attorney's office (downstate, not up here). Couple attempted murder cases where these guys just had no regard for the well-being of anyone but themselves. One guy, for example, was trying to kill a member of an enemy gang. He busted down the door to the wrong apartment where he found a young couple with their 6-8 month year old infant. Instead of just being like "oh s***, wrong place" he decided to fire of a couple rounds of the shotgun he was carrying. Luckily no one was killed. Anyways, with stories like that, and after hearing stories from my Chicago cop buddy that works in the gang unit, I just don't see a realistic way to deal with the gang problem. He doesn't either. What do you think? Is there anything that can be done? Is it a problem that's snowballed out of control? I mean, I recall interviewing this gang member and he just straight up said he didn't expect to live another year, so why go to school, get a job, be a good father, etc. "Have fun while you're living" or something was the phrase he used. I found that to be utterly depressing, but I'm not sure what society can really do to change that culture. Sounds like you eventually turned a corner, but it took a while. What's the key to reaching these kids before they start down that road? I gotta imagine you feel pretty lucky to be where you're at all things considered. I would guess (tell me if i'm wrong) most of your gang buddies are either dead, in jail, or living a pretty crappy life. Do these kids just not realize that?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 6, 2012 -> 10:05 AM) that droid emu one I posted has a bunch of emulators built-in, NES, SNES, genesis, Gb, GBA etc. I'll have to grab that. I assume finding the game files online is a guick google search? I'm normally pretty tech savvy, but the emulator thing I just never knew about until a month ago.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 8, 2012 -> 01:36 AM) Do you guys think KC fans are animals for cheering when Cassel got laid out and hurt today? KC fans caught some grief for booing Cano and his dad incessantly at the All-Star home run derby and they caught grief locally for booing Cassel mercilessly at the MLB All-Star celebrity softball game in which they also booed Bill Self out of the stadium. So are KC fans animals or supressed or ? Yes, I thought that was bulls***. You cheer a big hit. You don't cheer for the guy getting knocked out from the big hit. The audio clip from one of the KC players explaining his disgust over that is a good listen.

Can someone explain the face joke to me, because I don't get it.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 11:56 AM) FWIW Rasmussen and WeAskAmerica have both had a consistent Republican house effect of 1-2 points. Fine, but that still puts them in the "too close to call" range, whereas before Obama was up a bunch (and growing) just a few weeks ago.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 11:57 AM) I use an NES emulator, but that's about it. I have a tablet and want to get that on there. How'd you do it?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 10:35 AM) I worked in University Housing at UI for a couple years, saw most of the plans for the new buildings (they're replacing the 6-pack, the largest student housing area, and also current home to student-athletes). I didn't see any plans for a special building like that, and considering those dorms are the closest to all things athletic on campus I'd be surprised if they were building elsewhere. Then again, maybe a few floors are just going to receive some special upgrades (the new buildings as a whole are/going to be gorgeous). I could have sworn the 2005-2006 (and later) teams stayed in off campus apartment complexes, like that big one over on Lincoln near the interstate.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 11:31 AM) Well, as they say, perception is reality and of course every politician flip flops, just some more than others. Obama isn't percieved as a flip flopper, unfair or not while Romney is seen as someone who will say anything for political expidiency. The GOP were very effective against Kerry in that regard. The Obama team has also been effective on Romney on that front, especially considering that there is a ton of video out there. Romney was a moderate Republican as Gov, lot's of conservatives pundits like Coulter hated the idea as Romney the GOP standard bearer. He has shifted way to the right to appease his base and I can understand that but that's an opening the Democrats can exploit. If Romney were to win (I still think he won't based on the battleground state polls so far), I think he'll mostly be a moderate except on foriegn affairs with neocons making a comeback and we'll see tax breaks for the wealthy and the deficit will just keep on growing. Republicans always talk about balanced budgets but when was the last time they actually left a surplus? They always talk about smaller government but it ezpands under them, or am I wrong? Anyways, where's Balta, haven't seen anything from him lately. Obviously it's way, way early still, but Romney just took the lead in Ohio, Florida and Virginia among likely voters. The race is getting much closer than people think, and the closer it gets, the better for Romney. People will come out to vote if they think there's a legit chance that he'll win.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 11:09 AM) An overwhelming majority of people are already decided, especially in the "likely voter" pool. The results, in aggregate, usually match up very well with pre-voting polls. Significant differences are usually signs of fraud if anything. 3-5% is statistically significant and incredibly significant if it changes a state from one candidate to another. This happens every year and we don't assume it's fraud. A handful of states don't go quite as predicted, especially in polling from debate time, every election.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 10:32 AM) You have to be very careful with this sort of strategy, and it's not one they're likely to use because it has a much larger chance of backfiring than not. As sitting President, you have to maintain a presidential stature during these debates, and this sounds not only disingenuous, but very condescending, and it will make Obama come off as the bully in charge. It's disingenuous in that Obama is also a multi-millionaire, who holds fundraiser after fundraiser for mega rich folks that cost 30k+ to attend, which alienate those same 47% Romney was talking about. If Obama wants to pretend to be the president of the people, he needs to be that. The second Obama says anything about Romney catering to the ultra rich, all Romney has to do is say, "You mean like the folks that attend your 40 thousand dollar per plate dinners?" It's hard to debate as a sitting President, as you MUST maintain a presidential stature throughout, you absolutely CANNOT come off as a condescending bully. And when talking about flip flops, it would be quite easy for Romney to say, "You mean just like how you flip flopped on the gay marriage issue AFTER it became beneficial to your campaign?" These types of 'shots' work both ways, which is why they're dangerous to use in a forum where your opponent can respond. They're often better used in commercials where a response cannot be immediate. And again, the same kind of ad could be made against Obama. Off the top of my head he "flip flopped" on raising the debt ceiling and extending the Bush tax cuts. He blasted Bush for deciding to use unilateral military action without congressional approval, and then did the same thing with Libya. I'm sure there's a ton more. He's a politician. He can't keep all of his promises or keep his same positions on issues and expect to keep his job or get anything done while in office.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Oct 5, 2012 -> 02:47 AM) I don't think debates matter nearly as much as they used to pre George Bush 2nd. I consider myself an independent, I voted for Bush over Kerry and Obama over McCain partly because of who he chose as VP. Going into this election early on I leaned towards Obama and no debate is going to change that. Watching the debate, everything Romney said made him come off as an asshole to me and Obama while wasn't great I was ok with what he was saying. I know people who are leading to one side or other going to have same opinions their guy was ok/good other guy comes off as a duesch/did terrible. With the Internet the true independents that still haven't decided truly IMO are the people who just don't give a damn and aren't going to vote anyways. Eh, I disagree here. I think there's a good chunk of people that are truly undecided and that's proven after the votes are tallied (since the results don't always match up with pre-voting polls). I agree the debates don't mean as much these days, but it's the best opportunity to really compare the two candidates while they're in the same room, so there's some value.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Oct 4, 2012 -> 08:28 PM) meh, i dunno. it makes sense to be weak in your first debate and then fire it up for the last two, the two weeks before the election... THAT gives you the momentum when you need it - not a month out. Obama and his team know how to run campaigns. They're brilliant at it. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the plan all along. Yes, that's also me hoping, and I realize the bias that goes into that. however... stranger things have happened. I argue for a living and this goes against every rule in the book. You lead off with your best argument because first impressions are everything. The game has now changed and the talk until the next debate is Romney outclassing the President at the debate. I watched that Kennedy debate last night, and I think Romney is going to beat Obama in every one of these things. He's determined, speaks quickly and to the point, and it's clear he knows what he wants to say. Obama is much more laid back and unsure (if not unprepared). He's not a good debater. He went up against Jon McCain, not exactly the Patrick Henry of our times.