Iwritecode

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Jan 25, 2006 -> 01:43 PM) very true, what do u think they close the Opening Ceremonies off at 500?? 1000?? I'd expect the garage sale to be a hot spot when the fest first opens as well... No. I mean that if you have 1500 people in front of you, figure a few hundred are going to the Q&A session, a few hundred are going to see Konerko, a few hundred are going elsewhere (garage sale, booths, whatever) and a few hundred are going to see Thome. Now if you have 2500 people in front of you you're chances are going to significantly decrease...

A little off-topic but there's a comedian named Mike Sweeney that has a hilarious skit about Sallie Mae. He talks about how the US hasn't been able to find Osama Bin Laden yet. Then says "Why don't we just turn his name over to the student loan people? Problem solved!" "They found me in a bar shooting pool in Puson Korea. Three people the world knew where I was. Then the bar phone rings." "Sweeny-San!" "A phone call for me? Hello?" "Hello, Mike Sweeney?" "yes" "Hi, this is Jenny from Sallie Mae." "Wha? How did you find me?" "We matched you DNA with some spit we found on a beer bottle in the jungle."

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Jan 26, 2006 -> 06:22 AM) Thanks for the clarification IWC, I'll be printing the same thing and taking it with me. Bad thing is, that's for the 2005 fest, if you look at it closer. It's got Jan 14-16 as the dates. Oops. Didn't notice that... QUOTE(Steff @ Jan 26, 2006 -> 07:17 AM) No worries Alex... here's my confirmation received 9/23/05. · Double Play/Two-night package -Includes 4 SoxFest weekend passes & 4 tickets to a 2006 White Sox game And the human at the hotel confirmed. Two different hotel employess with two different stories? What a big suprise... I think I'll believe Steff and her confirmation email.

BTW, Bobby Jenks has been removed from the schedule. No idea what happened.

Here's the webpage. The exact quote: It's the one-night package that only includes 2 passes. I'll be printing this page and taking it with me just in case. It really wouldn't suprise me if the hotel people don't know what they are talking about. It's happened before...

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 25, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) Its hard to say for sure, but the fact that Jim and Pauly are both signing at the sametime should make it safe, but I wouldn't bet on it. Get up their as early as you can to be safe. Don't forget that the Q&A session is at the same time too. Thome is signing what 500? I'd say if your one of the first 1000 - 1500 people in line you'll be ok. Maybe even farther back.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 09:00 PM) ....damn scalpers.... It gone!

I always like the guys who thank the Lord that allowed them to win a football game. Right. Because if He does exist, he's got nothing better to do... I'd also like to see just one player blame a loss on Him. "We would have won if Jesus hadn't made me fumble in the 4th quarter!"

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 07:45 PM) Looks like Thome is only signing on Friday, that looks to be the tough autograph of the weekend. Friday's Q&A session starts 15 minutes after that. Decisions decisions...

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 11:41 AM) she's wearing a USC cheerleading uniform and she is jumping up and cheering when Texas scored. The other cheerleaders are just standing there looking at her. she forgot which team to root for. I see. I was thinking along those lines but just looked at the color of the uniforms. duh.

I'm totally missing the point of this picture. What am I supposed to be looking at?

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 12:46 PM) Sounds to me that somone is underknowledged about the sport of hunting. 7% of Americans hunt. Less than 1 percent play basketball, baseball, football, etc. Where in the world did those numbers come from? Are you only considering the people that actually get paid to play a sport? Hunting is something a lot of people do in their spare time. Some even make a living doing it. I'm betting playing basketball (or baseball or football...) is something a LOT MORE people do in their spare time.

QUOTE(Beastly @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 08:39 PM) Oh, and does anyone have any tickets? Prolly not. I have an extra weekend pass but nobody seems to like the price I'm asking for it...

I can't even tell what kind of animal it was.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 20, 2006 -> 02:47 PM) The house I live at in Fort Worth, Texas, if it were in Steff's neighborhood ( ) would probably cost $300K. I paid a hell of a lot less for mine, in an up and coming neighborhood, and the school system is one of the best in the state. In the first two years, I've gotten about $35K in equity according to appraisal values as well as what the houses are selling for in the neighborhood. I can't complain. No snow, no state taxes and cheap housing? Know of any job openings for computer programmers?

QUOTE(Reddy @ Jan 20, 2006 -> 02:30 PM) just out of curiosity how does that relate... at all... interesting facts nonetheless! I saw the title about a whale in a river and it made me think of it. Never seen a whale in a lake or stream though. Especially in Ohio...

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 10:33 PM) To answer your question...the SW suburban area you should be looking in is Austin, Texas. It was in Fortune magazine as one of the more affordable places to live, housing wise. There is no way we woulda been able to afford a place in Chicago. at least not in a comparable place. You don't have to go more than 15 minutes out of Austin and you can get a big ol' place for less than $140K. Just a few years ago Rockford topped that list. You can get a 4 or 5 bedroom for under $100K. The catch is that the list is most affordable. They don't tell you why they are affordable. I sure wouldn't want to live in a few of those neighborhoods...

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 20, 2006 -> 12:40 PM) Oh ya, 2 mortgages are a great option. There are a lot of really advantgeous routes when it comes to buying rental property and for 1st time home buyers. Its getting with people that know what they are doing cause they can save ya some money. What's the two mortgages deal? I don't think I've ever heard of that...

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 20, 2006 -> 12:28 PM) Ya, maybe the 1% includes property taxes on the year, but that has to be a really generic figure since property taxes vary greatly by state and area. I think that's it. I've only had one house but it's been pretty close so far. Sometimes a little under 1%.

I read once that it's illegal to hunt for whales in any lake, stream or river in Ohio. It's also illegal to mis-pronounce the name of the town of Joliet.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 03:18 PM) gross or net? Actually, in Fort Worth where we are, after my wife quits work, I'll be right at 2x my gross salary, so I don't feel so bad after seeing this thread. Not sure. It's just something somebody said (I think it was when we were applying for our loan) when we were house hunting and it's stuck in my brain ever since. The other one was that house payments are typically 1% of your total mortage. Including taxes and insurance. That's about right for us as well...

QUOTE(Steff @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 03:12 PM) I'm not saying it's wrong at all. Whatever works. But disposable income is different for everyone based on priorities. We could be living in a way bigger house.. but we like our Sox and Bears season tickets, cars, vacations, my shopping problem :rolly , etc, etc... and seriously.. without several kids there is no need for more then 3k sq feet, imo. We pay more then 20% also and our house didn't cost double. We need a bigger house. IIRC we are just under 1K sq feet. What's really sad is that for what we are paying, we could probably get a bigger one and still spend about the same amount. I just don't think we'd be able to sell our current one for the amount we'd need to pay it off...

QUOTE(salty99 @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 10:44 AM) For people staying in the hotel, has anyone received notice of the party or special private autograph session? If you were one of the first 250 you probably would've received the letter by now.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 10:23 AM) No, but they do have a law against taking pictures weightlifting with your pubes hanging out. I totally missed that until you pointed it out. What the hell are you looking at?!?

I'm just repeating what I was told by a grand total of one person. It's worked for us so far... QUOTE(Steff @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 01:27 PM) A better more accurate (IMO) rule is not to exceed 20% of your monthly income towards paying a house payment. I'm paying closer to 30% of my monthly income towards my house payment. Yet the total cost is still less that double my yearly...