Texsox

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 11:11 AM) Ok, I was exagerating a bit obviously but did you ignore the first part... usually there is a reason these people are suspects in the first place. Walking while black, speaking Spanish . . .

Just wondering; is a business position on a social issue any more or less valid when it is rooted in blackmail or developed as part of a strategic business plan?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 09:44 PM) I can't remember the last time someone not named me or y2hh got suspended back here, and that was for a series of f*** yous. This guy. But it was a while ago. Most suspensions go unnoticed.

The anniversary of many US Civil War events have been happening and will be happening. Next summer we are thinking of hitting the Civil War trail for some of the remembrances, events, (Celebrations?)

For ten years I have had a great run with T-Mobile. I guess maybe I was just lucky, but I never really had a problem. Until this summer. Damn f***ers changed my all you can eat data plan without notifying me. Basically they limited my roaming data. Since I only data roam once a year, and not in the previous six months from their change in March, they did not notify me. So one week into a six week vacation, my wife and I were out of data. No trip adviser, no gas buddy, no facebook, no Pandora, no nothing. We had planned on using those tools for finding places to stay, etc. Their answer was finding WiFi hotspots. My response, look at a map of f***ing Wyoming. I'm thirty miles or more between towns and in National Parks, there is no free WiFi hotspots, only $1 a minute internet when I am lucky.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 1, 2012 -> 05:11 PM) Peavy is going to cost $4M if we let him walk. That is locked in and will be on the books. Period. So, if we pick up the option the effective cost is $14M. Now, who can we sign for 1 year at $14M that will be better than Jake Peavy? Probably nobody. Also, you are giving up potential mid-season trade bait is we suck next year, or a draft pick if he says all year. I'd say to pick the option up. ^^^

This trip we covered Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain (f*** the road from Grand Lake to Estes, never again), Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe, and Big Bend. I received a job offer from the school in Big Bend. Four teachers, 20+- students. They needed 4-8 grade Generalist (check) ELA / History emphasis (check) ESL Cert (check) Cross Country coach (check) Included is a 3 bedroom home in Big Bend for $460 per month rent. Basically the school is for NPS personnel, Border Patrol, and a few concessionaire kids. If circumstances were different I would consider it. Living in my favorite National Park would be cool. In the past couple years we have toured the Natchez Trace, Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah, Smokey Mountains, and Acadia. We've become Passport stamp junkies. Next year we are thinking Civil War sites or Utah for our summer vacation. I am also looking onto a teacher/ranger/teacher program that is active in a few parks.

After a week in Yellowstone I must say what an amazing place. We saw grizzly bear, elk, antelope, sheep, bison, martin's, wild flowers, stunning vistas from valley to mountains. Ate some great food, camp in some great spots. What I can't understand is why they spend so much time on silly geysers, old volcanoes, weird geo-thermal pools, hot springs, and on and on. Who finds this interesting? (just kidding Balta). Once again I keep thinking I'm going to have to take Balta on my vacations to "learn me something". I am a huge National Parks fan. From Acadia to Big Bend. This trip we have visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain (plus some other NPS sites) and will also stop in Guadalupe, Carlsbad Caverns, and Big Bend. The facilities range from excellent to primitive. The employees (yes those government types we like to complain about) range from awesome to mearly great. The altitude is kicking my ass. The drive through Rocky Mountain National Park scared the s*** out of me. I prefer beaches to cliffs that drop off 5,000 feet less than 18" from my car tires.

I am travelling the backcountry of Wyoming and Colorado, writing this from the porch of a cabin in Colorado Springs. There is a really surreal element of emerging from the woods and seeing the US Flag at half staff. The lump in my throat as I asked someone what happened made it difficult to speak.

I deserve the accolades for not posting much I know the personal views of most people here better than I do my closest real friends and family.

Wow, I'm at the beach for a month with really spotty internet connectivity. I am so glad I decided today to chill inside and see what has been happening. As soon as I heard Greg + Idiotic Post = ChiSoxFn beat down I knew exactly where to look for the posts Looking at how much Chicagoans still enjoy discussing Ozzie, if I had a mediocre team and looking to sell tickets, I'd hire Ozzie in a second. Then I would Doug Collins him at the right time.

Thank you for that reminder. My dad just drove down to deliver a truck I bought. He and my mom spent 6 days on the road and basically a day and a half with me because of my job demands. He taught me by example the value of showing up ready to work every day.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 14, 2012 -> 10:06 PM) Jesus...was he independently wealthy? No, he worked for Bell Labs as an engineer while attending to law school. It took him five years to finish law school. Very tiring work he said.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 02:19 PM) Then if its such a smart decision, those who went to College shouldnt complain. I obviously made a conscious effort to get a College degree, so it stands to reason I believed that it was worth it. But if any of my friends started b****ing about going to College, Id really have little pity for them. And those that didn't should also not complain. They each made their choice. But that isn't how life works, we all complain.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jun 15, 2012 -> 01:28 PM) So, no comments on the prosecutor editing testimony? Isn't editing standard practice? If not the jury would have to hear word for word hours and hours of questioning. Isn't it then up to the defense to offer their own?

When you apply for a job what is on the application? Work history and education are near the top. The better both are the better you chances. Eventually when you have great experience and a qualifying education, you are in a much better position than someone with just one or the other.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 14, 2012 -> 11:09 AM) The latter would mean that he's underrated, which is definitely NOT the case. I'm not too certain about that. He is about the lowest rated manager by most posters here, yet the Marlins and their fans were practically dancing in the streets to get him. They valued him much higher than Sox fans. So it seems like we underrated him compared to Marlin ownership and fans. At least when he was announced as their manager. In reality they probably overrated him and we underrated him. Time will tell who was closer to reality.

Great advice ^^ I was just speaking with a new friend who took his engineering degree and went to law school. He practiced patent law and really enjoyed it before becoming a writer.

This goes in cycles. It may be frustrating now, but once you do start working that degree will help you advance.

Famous people get invited into deals all the time to add credibility, contacts, or whatever. I am trying to think of what may be in there that would prove that Paterno knew more about the abuse than has been confirmed. Payments to the abused was one idea I had, but they would let the media know. So that probably isn't it.

I am a little confused on the Ozzie vote. It could mean that Oz is a joke, poor manager, not liked, and not respected because of it. Or, it could mean he is much better than he is given credit for and the delta between the respect he deserves and what he receives, is greater than any other manager.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 12:11 PM) For this trial its irrelevant. From the beginning I thought McQueary was not being 100% forthright about the situation. This may be an issue if none of the victims stepped forward, but when youve got X witnesses who are all going to say Sandusky messed with them, its really going to be hard for a jury to believe that they were all lying, especially with the strange hand written messages from Sandsuky. Plus its unlikely Sandusky takes the stand, so there really is going to be little defense. Mainly just that these kids are making it up and it didnt happen. For whatever reason, I have disliked and never trusted McQueary from the start. I felt he deserved a bigger share of the blame for the entire situation.

The problem with the stats, IMHO, is they lump all gun owners together. There are violence junkies who dream of shootouts, and sportsman who dream of the perfect kill shot on a whitetail. There are folks who carefully clean their weapons and lock them up in gun safes each night and (IMHO) crazies who sleep with a gun under their pillow with a few more in easy to access positions. You can see how attitude can affect your individual chance of the kinds of dangers you have outlined. Just as a calm 50ish woman driving a corvette versus a 17 year old guy. You can give the stats on people dying in corvette accidents all you want, but if you were a betting person the odds are the 50ish woman is much less likely to die than the 17 year old male. That's common sense. I am far less likely to have a situation escalate as you describe because I would choose the path of retreat if there is one. There are other people who are looking for a confrontation. They are more likely to have a situation like started this thread happen. But they are the tiny minority. Let's not screw over the majority to help a few crazies and criminals. And Balta, I will try to raise my level of discussion here. I realize I was giving it short attention. You bring up some excellent points. But work in a gun shop for a month and you will be both scared and relaxed about gun owners.

You are taking away guns from honest citizens who do not do any of the things you mention. Out of the millions and millions of firearms in the US, very few are ever used by honest people in the manner you are outlining. After you take them away from the honest citizens, you made the world much safer for criminals. Do you believe criminals will be less violent once they have no fear of someone shooting back? I understand you have this fear of being shot by an honest person who mistakes you for a criminal. I fear more being shot by a criminal. I am offering the real world example of the most likely scenario that I would use my gun for self protection, an intruder in my home. I'm not going to be following some suspect in my neighborhood, I'm not going to be walking around with my gun. There are millions more like me. You choose to dismiss this as just an anecdote. And respond with stats. Since most of the stats do not apply to my unique situation, and include such craziness as following someone as part of a neighborhood watch, I can safely ignore those stats. Same as I can ignore stats that show how likely I am to freeze to death while snowmobiling. You will calmly tell the intruder you respect his safety and do not have a gun in the house and to please leave. I will explain I have two guns and will begin using them in two seconds if he doesn't get his ass out of my house. We both feel safer that way. You worry that my situation will escalate with both of us firing guns in the house. I believe the intruder will leave, in a hurry. I am also betting he is not carrying a gun, most home invaders do not. I believe the chance of violence escalating is greater in your case when he knows he has a chance to overpower you. I do not wish to bet my safety on hiding, the benevolence of criminals or the speedy response by police to find my address and pick the best response.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 13, 2012 -> 07:43 PM) It is just so simple. When a person is carrying a gun, they put themselves and everyone around them in danger. Not just the criminal. If you are carrying a gun, you have put me in danger. And no matter how much you or anyone else wants to pat yourself on the back and tell yourself you're the safe one, if you decide to carry, and you're not going to run into a bear, you have made a reckless choice and justified it using your gut. Again, you believe there are too many guns and you want to take away the guns from the honest, law abiding citizens so that only the criminals will have guns. That makes you feel safe. You think smugly that the criminal that breaks into your home will treat you nicely because you can't protect yourself. Perhaps you will take him around, show him where your valuables are, and make him your friend. After all, the important thing is that no one gets hurt. Balta, this really isn't worth debating any further. You believe you are safer hiding in the dark, waiting on the police to come save you. I want a fighting chance against a home invader. People have been killed both ways. Defenseless and fighting it out. It all depends on how you want to go. I'd rather not depend on the generosity of a criminal or the speedy response of police.