Texsox

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 09:22 AM) About 5 years ago, before I met my wife, when I was looking for my first home, I looked at some homes "off the grid" in Cold Creek, Nevada, which is about 40 minutes outside of Las Vegas. There is a small town there which is right next to some federally protected land, where wild horses roam around. I went and looked at a few houses on the market which had solar with batteries, as well as propane generators. Honestly, I might very well have done it, if the right home had been available. I also explored buying a parcel of land there and building something, but my fear was that if something changed and I needed to sell the property, that I wouldn't be able to do so. Properties off the grid are not for everyone and often sit on the market for a long time. Exactly. The barriers for doing this as a primary residence are much bigger than what I am considering. I am thinking more of a hobby, learning experience. Basically I can pick up land in Terligua, about 6-8 hours away, for a thousand or so or less per acre depending on a few factors. From there building the actual house gets to be very interesting. One of the other golf coaches I see a lot is using a couple 40' cargo containers to build his place. The space between is also living space. What helps is the area he is in is part of a HOA which has among other things a hotel resort with swimming pool, club house, and full showers. So while under construction there is the option to stay on the land camping while driving 30 minutes to an hour away and having some fun time with conveniences.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 12:31 PM) It will be really nice when the actual storage mechanisms get cheaper. Tesla / Solar City's current product, why better than what existed previously, is still not that good, but once you get to the point you can store the power, you can technically be off the grid and energy sufficient (by and large) and that is a pretty nice concept. It also depends on what you are trying to power. There are a significant number of people living off the grid now, but you have to give up some modern luxuries that most people are unwilling to give up like air conditioning. http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/living-off-the-grid/ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/family-life-...-144054081.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sigh...xas-state-park/ We've been considering buying some land near Terlingue and starting a small cabin. I believe the experience would be amazing both physically and mentally.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 15, 2016 -> 10:08 AM) Okay, but see how important a catchy title is? Nobody even remembers that thread! Now this is how you title a thread. That was a HoF title.

After fading to mid pack in the regional tournament my top player sees the difference between low 80s and low 70s shot making. She arrives within 30 yards of the green better than almost anyone in the region. Now she has to turn pars and bogeys (or worse) into birdies and pars. First off we analysed her equipment and she has a huge gap in distances between her PW (118 yards) and her 54 Degree (88 yards). So she is looking into a 50 degree, probably to match her other wedges not her iron set. We are working on distance control with every shot. Borrowing from Dave Pelz and his clock system. Adding a low running chip Adding a higher pitch Improving from the sand Improved green reading using aimpoint Improving putting using EyeLine Golf's 1000 Putt Challenge and equipment.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 15, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) If I am supposed to believe that Donald Trump is supposed to be this incredibly smart business man who is going to rescue us from our government with his understanding of complex mechanisms used to reform them for the betterment of the people, why can't he figure out how to run a campaign staff that won't keep losing him delegates to candidates with way less of that business experience? To keep losing delegates to the system means he either isn't as good of a manager as he keeps telling us he is, or he isn't as smart as he keeps telling us he is. If he can't keep Ted Cruz from stealing his delegates, how in the hell is he going to keep Vlad Putin from stealing back Eastern Europe? A friend of mine just posted something eerily similar on FB. Everything in calculated with Trump (all candidates). Many of his supporters and more importantly possible supporters, are drawn in and believe the us against the machine narrative. This is your chance to stick it to politicians and everybody else. I'm (Trump) getting kicked around and disenfranchised, and screwed over JUST LIKE YOU!. But I'm going to fight this and win like you can't. I'm winning this battle for you. Much, much better than "I feel your pain". Trump getting kicked by the establishment is exactly what a significant number of Americans feel. It's one of the best plays I've seen in my lifetime. Not in the same league with the "liberal media" and "activist judges" strategy which made the GOP bullet proof from criticism, but still pretty damn good.

The past decade has left some scar tissue from big trades and moves. I'll toss in Billy Botch as well. Good, great guys who came to the Sox and ended their carers and not in a good way.

When they have the Adam & Blake appreciation day they will only sell sets with an adult and kid's size. I'm getting the camo. The Blue Jay's Stars and Stripes alternative cap look cool with the maple leafs.

So his wife doesn't trust him and makes him bring the son along as a chaperone during the baseball season. The only chance he had of a slump buster was by investigating underage hookers in (I laugh as I write this) Bangkok.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 14, 2016 -> 06:22 PM) Eh, those all star football teams win repeated national titles, they are very very good. No doubt the all star teams are very, very, good. But Katy may be the best public high school team in the nation. By the way they just broke ground on their new $61,000,000.00 12,000 seat stadium.

QUOTE (TRU @ Apr 13, 2016 -> 03:39 PM) Pfft, they can bring that all star team down here to Katy and get their ass whooped The Katy coach is one that is leading the coaches to not schedule those programs. But, yeah, it would be interesting.

https://www.imgacademy.com/sports/football/...CFQqKaQodzukBYA http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2576842...otball-team-img A player that would be on my golf team is currently attending a similar program for golfers. The IMG football team plays a schedule that includes travel all over the country, except Texas. The Texas coaches have loosely banned together and are not scheduling IMG because they believe it will destroy the foundation of high school sports, you play for "your" school, in your hometown. Of course the Texas coaches themselves travel across the nation for games. How many here flew to games while in high school? Hell, my college team only flew to nationals, we drove everywhere else.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 10, 2016 -> 10:45 AM) First day after Christmas Break then. Announce it in advance to give parents time to plan for the closure. I think that too many teachers forget we are child care services as well. Perhaps hey could start with the high schools and gradually work back to the younger kids.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 10, 2016 -> 10:35 AM) If you're talking about teachers or other public employees, I don't like strikes. At least not in the middle of the school year when you are inconveniencing thousands of parents who aren't to blame for your plight. As for employees of a private company, I say do what you think is best. Just don't whine when there are layoffs or your company moves. And that is the problem with teacher's salaries in most places. We sign contracts without knowing the salaries. Basically in the next few weeks I will sign a contract agreeing to work during the next school year. In the middle of August the school board will authorize the new salaries for the coming school year. When would you like teachers to strike? After they have worked under that contract? Immediately as soon as they see the new wages and without trying to negotiate? That will delay the start of school. During the school year?

There doesn't seem to be a winning formula in lineups. A manager who tries to "ride the hot bat" and freely makes adjustments is accused of making players uncomfortable, the players don't know their roll from day to day, etc. A manager who dogmatically keeps the same line up each day gets blasted for leaving a guy in who isn't performing. Not taking advantage of hot hitters . . .

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 09:06 AM) I know way more about the White Sox franchise and it's history than I like to admit but for some reason player numbers never really stuck to me. I barely know anyone's. Off the top of my head it's Frank Thomas 35 and Nick Swisher "Dirty 30" (yuck). Same here. I would have to do this backwards, pick a player and go look up their number. Which seriously isn't happening. But I like reading everyone's lists.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 9, 2016 -> 06:17 PM) It was 5 or 6 years old and had none of that stuff on it. The past couple design changes have given the crew cab pickups more car-like interiors. There still are the single bench seat, big bed, HD work trucks out there. But the super crew F150s are really more like passenger vehicles today than the trucks of old. There is a driving adjustment to rear wheel drive and maneuvering a big vehicle is different. But you just can't beat the ride of a long, wide wheelbase while sitting up above most other vehicles on the road. The roomy interiors make long driving trips a joy. A full size adult can cross and uncross their legs in the backseat without hitting the seat in front of them.

The allegations from students is a worry that all too many teachers worry about. I've been able to teach in two well respected school districts with some good kids. Currently I am teaching advanced placement classes with mostly college bound or military bound students.

I am creating a first and second year curriculum for my high school golf team. Basically I need some structure so the players understand what they should be working on at each practice and a way to track their progress. It also allows me to automate the process from the players moving from our 9 hole cheap beginner tournaments to our expensive 36 hole country club tournaments. As a first year player what I have is a way to "earn your clubs" using TopGolf as an objective measuring tool. Basically hit 3/5 on the fly to the target without a serious miss*** and you can "put that club in your bag". They need to accomplish this on three different occasions with the last one being under the observation of a coach. Not so much as a trust issue but to ramp up the pressure just a bit. I have a rules section. Basically understand playing the ball as it lies through the green. Boundary markings, white, red, yellow, and how to play accordingly, where to tee off from, how to mark your ball, etc. I also have etiquette and expectations sections. Finally a "habits" section. Setting up your work area when you get to the ball. Our pre-shot routine I teach all the players, keeping your clubs clean, etc. And finally terminology so they understand what we are talking about. "Taking it outside the line, up in the stance, etc. I will ramp stuff up for the second year players.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 9, 2016 -> 06:39 PM) Who had Smylie Kaufman in their Masters pool? This guy. I also had Ricky.

One thing I have noticed the past decade or two is workers now basically want all other workers to earn less and receive lower benefits. Whenever a group goes on strike or there are other compensation issue it seems the popular opinion is suck it up, others have it worst. That seems dangerous to me and furthers to dissolution of the middle class. From auto workers to teachers we don't seem to mind seeing other people's real wages fall. I understand more the public sector jobs because those relate to our taxes. It seems that we are cheering more profits for owners and less money for our neighbors. I'm concerned about what that does to our economy. We already demand that the wealthiest Americans pay less in taxes so they can create more jobs, now we want them to pay those people less. That shifts both the tax burden and every other economic stress to the working class. We just went through a period of record profits for many sectors in the economy just wages remained stagnant and unemployment did not drop as fast. Are we really better off as a nation if wealth is concentrated and held at the top and not "trickling down"? I see this in Mexico all the time. People are either extremely wealthy or barely hanging on. The middle class there is razor thin.

At the end of the day you add up what you earn plus benefits. If I was earning 8% more and paying into the pension, no problem. If you pay me less and make those payments, that's fine also. I'll pay 100% of my health plan, but the salary better be higher.

Finally, let's look at the scope of what we are trying to accomplish with the schools. Lately the social emotional character development of kids is being thrusted on the schools. http://www.casel.org/ We aren't really into taking anything out of the school day, but we keep adding. Does society really want me to be responsible for the emotional development of a kid I see 48 minutes a day? How am I going to have any meaningful impact on the social development of a kid who goes home to a dysfunctional family? When I was at my last school 15% of the students had a parent who had been in jail or prison, close to 50% had a family member or close friend in jail. And I am going to be judged on that child's character? I take seriously the fact that I may be the best role model that student sees each day and I do my best to help guide my students. They know when I'm talking to them like a dad and appreciate that. I would rather throw that in for free than be expected to and evaluated on how well the student's turn out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_emotional_learning http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/it...earning_why_now

I think the last two posts are really good. I've been teaching now for 8 years after almost 30 years in business management. Recognizing, evaluating, and incentivising teachers may be the biggest challenge I have seen. As was mentioned if you want your best teachers where they can do the most good, they will be with the most difficult to teach population. But what yardstick do you use to evaluate them? The gains achieved in their classroom will not be apparent for a year or more down the road. I spend a fair amount of time teaching kids how to learn, how to study, how to manage their time, etc. That won't show up until they are in college. (I teach mostly juniors and seniors). I went from teaching at a Title One school with a sizable migrant population, mostly English language learners, being raised by one parent who was probably working two jobs and barely making by to an above average economical population with a much larger percentage of two parent families. Somewhere on that drive, based on student performances, I became a much better teacher! The best answer I have for evaluating teachers doesn't work in today's climate, because it is subjective not objective. Hire good supervisors and have them evaluate and trust them to do their jobs. Again, not perfect by a long shot but better than any other method I"ve heard. I have a student that has been arrested three times this school year. Are you really going to evaluate me on how well this kid does on a test? I think I am doing a great job just getting him to my class everyday five minutes late. And the money situation. Yes, you have to pay for good stuff and teaching kids has gotten more expensive. If you want them job, career, college, ready they need the same tools that they will be using in their jobs, careers, and college. Teachers, like everybody else, gravitate towards the best positions. For teachers the salary is just one part but it is important. Technology, benefits, security (physical and economic), support, all drive the best teachers.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 12:48 PM) Jim...since I blasted you earlier on your F150 comment, I should point out, I absolutely love how trucks ride. Albeit, if money was no matter, I'd go with the Tundra, but F150's are really nice vehicles, imo. I prefer the more truck riding SUV's as well to the car based versions, but that is more because I like sitting higher, etc. I thought it was hilarious The built in San Antonio, Texas Tundra is a very nice truck. If their dealers were better at internet sales I would have given them a better look. But they would not even quote me a price, I had to come to the dealer ship. For passenger comfort I just don't see how anyone could prefer a sitting on the floor with no legroom car over a crew cab truck. But Texas roads are wider, our distances between towns is greater, and like I mentioned earlier, the state is basically set up for Suburbans and pickups so parking isn't a problem.