Texsox

There is so much great analysis on this board that it was impossible to narrow it to 5, but we did. Not to slight anyone, but the cream rises to the top here. These posters know their baseball in general and the White Sox like only die hard fans can.

These guys are teased, picked on, and . . . loved by all. They give and get and are among our favorite posters.

It certainly would be fun to share a drink with any of these posters and dozens more. The winner should host a party at the Cell.

Sox fans are world wide. We wanted to recognize both our fans from outside the US and those that recently arrived.

There are so many worthy candidates. A sense of humor greases these boards and the committee felt these posters greased the board.

We should give them all some love. I am certain this isn't easy and we did have some rough patches this year. The nominating committee felt that every administrator deserved an award. Thank you.

That wouldn't help in this case. THe print shop will not take any flavor of Corel or Publisher. Basically they want Quark or Illustrator. THey will also work with a PDF.

On Cell Phone "I know it's your favorite part. For the tenth time; I will keep an eye out for you"

How about Maggs OR Frank? It all depends on who we get in return. If we traded Maggs for Bonds and Frank for Halladay would anyone b****? I know it's not going to happen, but using an extreme example to show that it is possible for both to be gone and the team looking better.

The polls will be open tonight. The committee is putting the final touches on the poll. They took everyone's suggestions to heart and looking over the list they have found the best of the best. Names we all recognize and some that we should. A category or two was added and in the spirit of being positive and recognizing the good stuff, anger management was dropped. Please check back later tonight.

What Ozzie said isn't far off from some comments said here last summer. We were overloaded with big slow power hitters and no one was getting on base. I think we could break up those 4 and improve the team. Dumping all four wouldn't and shouldn't happen, but any two or three would be fine, if we received comparable value. It seems like when players and managers leave they all take pot shots at Frank. Maybe a change in scenery would be a good thing for everyone concerened.

I'm wondering about the recoil and accurancy. It is probably better than just sticking your hand out and blasting away. Can you imagine the first battle with both sides having this technology?

I am trying to convert some Publisher files to Adobe Acrobat .pdf for use by a new print shop. Adobe Distiller seems to be converting the files properly, at least the size seems correct after being "distilled" but I can't open them. Any ideas? I'm also trying to quickly reinstall my Corel Draw 11.0. I'm thinking I could convert to Corel then to Acrobat? I'm running out of ideas.

I thought a blow job was foreplay; I guess in some circles it's an appetiser

Oh Sure, Oneup me and find the damn picture I'm not worthy

santo=dorf LMFAO at the avatar

So maybe if we all forgot the last time we won a WS was 1917 we may repeat? People can't think past the obvious to see the principles are the same in many situations. The names, places, and dates may chance but the road is well traveled. I strive for a consistent ethic in life. Fair for Fair. Doesn't always work, and is sometimes very difficult, like in the case, to achieve.

Did you see where Eastern Illinois University has contributed to our understanding of this disorder? One of the only known academic studies on sex and cannibalism, at Eastern Illinois University last year, found that people were more likely to eat someone they found sexually attractive.

Well thank you for that bit of a cheery prediction

Mates on the menu THE trial of German cannibal Armin Meiwes has shocked the world. He denies murder, but Meiwes admits slicing off his pal Bernd Juergen Brandes' manhood and frying it in butter for them BOTH to eat—before killing him hours later "by request". NOW world cannibalism expert Jaques Buval, 61, right, reveals there are more perverts sharpening their knives, many in Britain, after feeding their appalling lusts on the internet. In this terrifying adaptation by JANE ATKINSON from an interview and his book The Cannibal Clan, he sounds a chill warning. THEY'RE out there. They look like me and you, they're intelligent, they are in control of their faculties. The only difference is that while you might fancy baked beans for tea they hunger for human beings—and only a feast of a friend's flesh will satisfy their sick craving. No one should be fooled into thinking Armin Meiwes, pictured below—the cannibal standing trial in Kassel, Germany—is a one-off. There are hundreds of cannibals in each country around the world—and that includes Britain. They live in England. They live in France. They live near the Spanish beaches where you take your children on holiday. And they're at work in Venice and Florence when you're on that romantic break. But they are bound by desires that are sated only by killing and consuming human flesh. In 30 years of studying serial and cannibal killers I have noted the increasing frequency with which the former indulge in the latter. Most share similar traits: abused or disrupted childhoods leading to speech impediments, chronic shyness, an inability to connect with others, an introversion of the soul. Most keep their dark fantasies to themselves. But there are those—like Meiwes—who just can't. Stomach Meiwes was tipped over the edge by the death of his mother. And the internet—that vast, anonymous universe connecting people at speeds once only dreamed of—has given him and his kind the opportunity to turn fantasy into reality. Someone once wrote: "The serial killer makes room in his heart for the one he desires—the cannibal makes way in his stomach for the one he loves." Armin Meiwes saw the act of consuming human flesh as a kind of benediction. Through it he consumed a little of the soul of his victim and retained that illusory friendship and warmth he never got from his bigger brothers or his mother when he was growing up. Because psychopaths are incapable of experiencing empathy and love, this crude and primitive form of bonding becomes a sickening substitute. One particularly gruesome example is the Japanese cannibal Issei Sagawa who killed and ate a Dutch student. He said: "My passion is so great I want to possess her. I want to eat her. If I do she will be mine forever." This is a belief shared by Jeffrey Dahmer, the Milwaukee serial killer who ate parts of his many victims, and Armin Meiwes who killed and ate only one. Make no mistake, Meiwes tried to get more and has told the judges of this at his trial. But what separates the Dahmers from people like Meiwes is that the actual killing gave the German cannibal no pleasure. It was strictly the ritualistic eating of the flesh. Why? The internet is awash with sexual perversions. There are sites devoted to people who achieve sexual satisfaction only through the amputation of one or more limbs. There are those who can only get off on sex with farmyard animals. We brand them perverts but never really understand what drives them. The internet provides a way for people with specific and troublesome sexual or emotional problems to band together into online communities which make them feel "normal". Allowing people with these sorts of defects a space where their feelings are justified can only be dangerous and will ultimately lead to more horrific deaths. Controls are needed to ensure these people cannot find encouragement on the net. For thousands of years mankind has controlled its baser urges through society. If the internet creates opportunity for micro-societies to grow with no reference to the wider moral code, what future lies ahead of us? But there is a difference between sexual cannibalism and aggression cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism is a psychosexual disorder which involves a person "sexing-up" the consumption of another person's flesh. Andrei Chikatilo, a Russian serial killer, was responsible for the murders of scores of boys and girls. He falls into this category, as do Dahmer and Meiwes. Chikatrilo got turned on by violent porn films—Meiwes blamed zombie movies seen as a youngster for prompting his obsession. According to Lesley Hensel, author of Cannibalism As A Sexual Disorder, eating human flesh can cause an increase in levels of vitamin A and amino acids. This chemical effect on the blood and brain could possibly lead to the altered states that some cannibals claim to experience—although there is no scientific evidence to back this up. One of the only known academic studies on sex and cannibalism, at Eastern Illinois University last year, found that people were more likely to eat someone they found sexually attractive. Defrosted On the other hand, aggression cannibalism is motivated by feelings of hostility, creating an overriding need to exert power, revenge or control over the victim. And it is another German in recent times who fits this profile. In 1981 Anna Zimmerman, a 26-year-old mother of two, murdered her boyfriend out of anger and vengeance, then dismembered his body. She froze his remains and over time defrosted portions of them to eat with her unsuspecting children. Zimmerman is one of the few known cases of female criminal cannibals—but is probably not alone. Whatever the outcome of the trial Meiwes must stay locked up. For cannibalism is like paedophilia. He will want to do it again—he has said as much. It is not an urge that will vanish with the passing years. He will need to kill and eat again—and there will be poor, sick people willing to let him.

Which, in a round about way, is what I'm saying. Should the world's armies revisit the conventions in light of new technology?

HOHAM FIRING RANGE, Israel (AP) -- Veterans of Israeli anti-terror units on Monday demonstrated a new gun that can fire at a target from around the corner, making it particularly effective in urban combat. Israel plans to start using the weapon next week, U.S. forces have already begun training with it and U.S. SWAT and police teams have expressed interest in purchasing it, Amos Golan, the device's developer, said at a demonstration Monday at a firing range near Tel Aviv. "The Americans are very interested in this," Golan said. "I believe from what I have seen and heard that it can be a big success in Iraq because the Americans are dealing with an urban area there." The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv had no immediate comment. Golan thought of the idea for the weapon after years of pondering a failed Israeli army operation in the West Bank during the first Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s. Several Israeli soldiers were wounded when they stormed a house through the door and were hit by automatic fire shot from inside, Golan said. An Israeli-American company, Coral Gables, Fla.-based Corner Shot Holdings, showed how it can be fired through an exploded doorway around the corner into a house, or from a hall into a room. A soldier sees the target on a small TV screen mounted on the barrel of the gun. Armies from 15 countries are testing the system, said Golan, a former deputy commander of Israel's anti-terror unit. The system is the only weapon that allows the user to stay safe around a corner and away from a target, Golan said. The device swivels at the middle, 63 degrees to the left or right, with the stock, trigger and the small screen at the hand-held end. The entire firing mechanism, fitted with a pistol that sits over a mini-camera with a zoom lens, is located at the front end. A lever positioned under the stock allows the user to quickly move the firing end to another position to better focus on the target. The development of the idea took three years, and sales began three months ago. The weapon system costs between $3,000 and $5,000, depending on the components. The device can be fitted with different kinds of pistols, including the Baretta 92, which is used by the American army, the Glock and the Colt. It can also be adapted to fit an M-16 rifle or tear gas launcher. The camera can view between 200 and 400 yards, depending on the model. Accessories include an infrared laser illuminator, rubber bullet launcher, various lenses and a silencer. A video-out socket allows the shooter to film action in a room around the corner and transmit the images to commanders far away. The mechanism has been patented in the United States and will be sold only to official government agencies, Golan said. ______________________________ I'm still picturing Willy Coyote

Nuke brings up an interesting point. I'm going to take his comment and spring a question. Who should define the rules of war? If both sides agree that firing past someone's head to get them to speak, or other forms of torture are ok, should politicians around the world or the men and women fighting the battle decide? I always thought of how I would want US and Allied POW treated and expected out military to do the same. I am probably way off base, since I have no military experience.