dasox24

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 2, 2015 -> 11:15 AM) McPhee, Rolle, Royal are all 3 year deals. Honestly forgot Royal signed a 3 year deal. Was thinking it was a 2. But all of Rolle's guaranteed money is in the 1st year, so I consider him a one year deal.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 2, 2015 -> 10:10 AM) I think the Bears have signed more free agents this year than the Packers have in the past 10 years. For sure. The good thing from our perspective is that they've all been 1 year deals (except McPhee). These are just stop-gap players until they can begin to plug in their own talent through the draft (or at least I hope that's the plan).

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 1, 2015 -> 11:17 PM) Wow. If Shaka is as good as they say, he should kill it at Texas. I also saw that Gregg Marshall got a raise to stay in Wichita. Good to see a MVC school can pay a coach over $3 million. Very good news. Good for Wichita St keeping him.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 31, 2015 -> 03:21 PM) Apparently the Bears have signed Rodgers Decent depth for the backfield. He can kind of do it all. Hopefully no more than our #3.

I'm really happy with Tennessee hiring Rick Barnes. I know he's had his issues the last few years at Texas, but frankly, we know what we're going to get with him and that's a good thing for us right now. We couldn't risk a bust, and this is a guy with 600+ career wins and made the NCAA Tournament 19 of the last 20 years. I also think he'll be rejuvenated a bit by being fired. It's human nature to want to prove your old boss wrong. UT is a program where you can win big (look at Bruce Pearl who had us ranked #1 at one point in 2008), but 3 coaches in 3 years is going to take it's toll. Barnes will bring in very good talent. Even if we never make a big run in the NCAA tournament, as long as we can just make the tournament for a few years in a row (not including next year, which will be rough), I'm good with that. The hope here is that he stabilizes the program and makes it a prime spot for a young, solid coach once he leaves.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 26, 2015 -> 06:26 PM) If you are the White Sox, do you take your chances and draft Aiken in the first after agreeing to a well below slot signing and than from there have cushion to be a little extra aggressive in the later rounds (nabbing some guys who fell). I guess the question is how much less would Aiken take and what are the Sox view of his recovery / med's and overall upside. If we were picking later in the 1st round, I'd say it was an easier decision. I also am not sure if fact we don't have 2nd / 3rd round picks makes situation better or worse. Hadn't really thought about this until now. But I have to say I would if we could get him under-slot like you mentioned. I think I'd be willing to take that chance.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 12:37 PM) I like the youth/size/speed of Foster, but can he play? IIRC, he was pretty bad in Tampa last year. It could be the product of being on a bad team, but I dunno. . . Pace is a pro-personnel guy, so I'm sure he watched a ton of tape on him. Hope he's right. Usually I prefer to make observations about players from my own eyes, but I never watched Tampa last year so I'll have to lean on what I've read: Mason's down year last year had a lot to do with him not being a good fit at MLB for Lovie's defense. Though he hasn't played in a 34 defense, some think he'll actually be better as a ILB in a 3-4. Again, just what I've heard.

Antrel Rolle and Eddie Royal officially signed per Brad Biggs, Michael Wright, etc on Twitter. Not too surprising. Solid pickups.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 02:03 PM) The reason to trade Cutler is to save money and to get rid of the possible negativity he brings to the team. Whether its true or not, that would be why you move Cutler. Because of that, its hard to believe that the Bears are going to get an amazing return for him. Absolutely. I'd take just about anything to get rid of him so we can move on. He's not winning us a Super Bowl, and to me, that's the only objective here. So might as well cut our losses and start over at the position.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 9, 2015 -> 01:47 AM) So a Houston Texans radio host is saying SF is talking about Kaepernick with the Bears and Eagles. The guy has a reputable history. Which one? If it's Zierlien, he's well-connected and would probably know. Edit: nevermind. Not as familiar with this Braddock guy.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 7, 2015 -> 11:31 AM) I have no hate for conte. For his sake I wish he'd retire. Agreed.

As for Lync, I dislike it a lot. Why can't I copy and paste normally? Is it just the version we use, or does everyone have that issue? And why doesn't Microsoft fix it?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 24, 2015 -> 10:35 PM) Goddamn working in IT can be frustrating, an emergency change of mine to reboot a hung server got denied by a sr leader because the test/implementation plan wasn't good enough. It's a damn reboot, how the f do you test that? And implementation plan? Start -> Restart server. Didn't really know where to put this, just needed to vent. That sounds awful. My current client (who all of you would instantly recognize) is the worst I've dealt with regarding that sort of thing. There are like 10 different teams that each have their own little responsibility. Even the simplest restart causes a lot of headache. I keep telling them they are wasting time and money on personnel, and that they could streamline things. And while they agree with me, they just say it won't change because "that's how it has always been." Those are some of the worst words any company can say.

I work for a software company, and in typical tech fashion, our dress code is pretty relaxed. I usually wear slacks and a polo or button-down, but recently started wearing jeans more often. I won't add too much right now, but I wanted to make a point about shoes: I'm a big fan of investing in nice shoes. Doesn't have to be Gucci or something that runs $600, but $150-250 can still look fantastic for a long time if you shine them and keep them in good condition. I typically only buy Cole Haan. But find something that works best for you (fit, style, etc). Also, for those of you without as much expendable income, Joseph A Bank is always having some sort of sale. Some of their stuff might be cheaply-made (which is expected with their prices), but I actually like their dress shirts a lot. Never bought a suit or slacks from there though.

Definitely at work today. I figured everyone was except for government workers and some banks.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 11, 2015 -> 11:26 AM) Unfortunately that is capped at a certain income level. I made the mistake one year of deferring (forbearance) for about 6 months when I moved out here and took a new job so I could get a handle on what my expenses would all be, etc. Boy was that a mistake...seems like I was paying off that interest forever. Yep, if you make $80,000 and are a single household, you can't deduct the student loan interest. Even if it's not very common for people to make that right out of school, after a couple years, that number could be very feasible depending on your field of work.

6/8.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 12, 2015 -> 09:57 AM) Well she got the loans before we were married so I'm not sure exactly how the front end worked. I do believe they were government-backed but when we got married she had just finished school and the loans went from a hold of some kind to active. They were both with Great Lakes Credit Union or something, they consolidated the two automatically into a blended rate around 3%. That was in 2004. After I think either 3 or 5 years of making all payments on time, it automatically went down to 1.75%. You're very fortunate. Interest rates aren't that low anymore. Mine are around 6.5%. But my older sister who graduated in 2002 has an interest rate in the 1% range. Similar thing happened to me, after making on-time payments for 1 year. They didn't lower the interest rate but knocked off around $1000 from my loan. So that's another good incentive to make on-time payments.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 09:16 AM) 63 kids in the last two classes in an 85 scholarship limit world. Amazing. 58 kids, but I get your point. Amazing on two counts: 1) the lack of talent on the roster that Butch has had to turn over; and 2) the fact that he's been able to fit that many kids into 2 classes.

Consolidating can be good. It's easier to keep up with them for sure. Personally, I took out the max amount I could every year while I was in school (4.5 year period). I've been very conscientious about getting rid of that debt so I pay an extra $50/month, and I also did a one-time large payment last year that knocked off about 30% of what I owe. I will have them fully paid off in about 3 more years. It all depends on your income and means of paying it back, but if you end up having the capability, I suggest paying it off as quickly as possible while still having money to invest in a retirement plan, some savings, maybe the stock market, etc. It's good to diversify. I don't think carrying student loan debt is that bad and it can even help you build credit if you pay it off on-time and in-full every month. So while I do suggest you pay a little more than necessary each month, I wouldn't say to go overboard if it limits you from putting your money other places. My sister did the income adjusted repayment for a couple years until she started making more money. Then she shortened the repayment terms and increased the monthly payment (while even adding more on top than required). So you can change it up as you go. You don't have to have it all figured out right after you graduate.

I'm not sure they're as popular as they used to be. I graduated high school in 2006 and I never bought one, nor did most of the guys at my school. And I don't recall the friends I had at other schools wearing them.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 5, 2015 -> 07:19 PM) Yeah pretty clever waiting until after signing day. Obviously not a coincidence. Happens all the time. Drayton used to be at Tennessee. I liked him a lot but unfortunately for him, he joined the staff the year Fulmer got fired.

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm working on getting all of this in writing. I'll keep you all posted.

Just go ahead and give me all the 4/5 stars. Today was a good day.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 3, 2015 -> 09:26 PM) Do you have renters insurance? I'd imagine that would help cover any extra expenses if the place is unlivable. I do have renter's insurance. But none of my personal belongings were actually ruined. It's more the physical place itself (floors, ceiling, cabinetry, etc) that needs to be fixed. Figured that should fall under my landlord's insurance, but there's no telling if he'll just pocket the money.