Iwritecode

I kept seeing ads for Falling Water last year while watching Mr Robot so I set my DVR to record the show. I never got around to watching it until a few weeks ago and it is not good. I'm on episode 8 of 10 and I'm still not sure I know what the hell is going on. I guess I was expecting something more like Inception but it's not even close. Half the time I can't tell if I'm watching something "real" or a dream. Which I guess is what they are going for but it makes the storyline really hard to follow. I'll probably watch the last 2 episodes just to see what happens but I've heard zero talk about the show which leads me to believe that nobody else really liked/watched it either. On seperate note, I'm excited for season 2 of Humans coming up on Monday.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 04:30 PM) And in more depressing news, 49% of Americans actually support Trump's Muslim Ban. That's because this ban appeals to all the people that think all these scary brown people are coming over to terk ur jerbs and use up all our medical services and impose sharia law on us and fly planes into our buildings. Lately my FB page has been filled with memes and pictures saying such. I don't even bother trying to explain things to them anymore. There's just too many and they don't listen when I do anyway. Just yesterday I had a debate with someone when they posted a pic about how "illegal immigrants can come here and get free healthcare while our veterans get put on a waiting list and no care". I asked because I was honestly curious, "What medical care is available to illegals that somehow isn't available to veterans?" I never did get an answer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 02:27 PM) In that time frame, you know how many terror attacks I have seen? Guess. Is it somewhere between 1 and -1,000,000?

The boys team won state last weekend. Girls start with regionals this weekend.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 11:32 AM) I'm not sure Sox fans would have the patience to deal with 3-5 years of tanking...but we might have to In the last 5 years the White Sox have had attendance rankings of 2016 - 26th, 2015 - 26th, 2014 - 28th, 2013 - 24th & 2012 - 24th. So I can't say Sox fans have had much patience the past 5 years either. At this point does it really matter if they are 26th or 30th? What they've been doing the past 10+ years simply is not working and it's time to try something different.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 26, 2017 -> 02:46 PM) Let's do over/under: 47.5 The other one is only at 14 pages for me.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 04:02 PM) Often times for the most expensive procedures, there isn't actually time to "price shop" because it's an emergency situation and even if you could, there are very strong emotional incentives against choosing the cheapest option when it comes to your own life and well-being. Market forces don't work in health care for a variety of reasons. Exactly. So maybe we should be trying to figure out why healthcare costs so much in this country instead of blaming the insurance companies who are more or less the middlemen and have no control over those costs. Although at this point I fear it's akin to trying to get the toothpaste back in the tube. I doubt many doctors are going to want to give up their 6 and 7 figure incomes.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 02:58 PM) I fundamentally have no idea how healthcare and child costs can be so freaking expensive Because the free market doesn't work in healthcare. Most people have absolutely no idea if their doctor is overcharging them for the care they are providing or not and have almost no way to comparison shop. So doctors are free to charge essentially whatever they want. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 02:22 PM) Another issue being addressed is transparency. When possible, you should be able to keep your own doctor from previous plans. You especially should be told the cost for any test or procedure at 3-4 competing health centers and hospitals so you can make a determination of quality vs. cost, and the hospitals should be forced to compete with each other on pricing...rather than just dumping a completely unexpected bill on a patient when it's too late for them to make an informed decision. This would be a good start.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 08:39 AM) So any advice for a first-timer? Dad and I are going just Sunday. I want to go to the Farm system panel at the beginning of the day and the broadcaster one at the end. Are the photo lines as long as the autograph lines? How early do we have to be there to receive wristbands for signings? There aren't many HUGE names signing on Sunday, and combined with a general lack of enthusiasm maybe the lines won't be as long? Will Burdi and Collins be easier to get? Should we get there much before 9am? Our tickets are at will-call. How big are the seminar rooms? Can you sneak in late if necessary (like if you got caught up in an autograph line)? Once the signing starts, how fast do the lines move? If I'm in the line at 9:30 for the Burdi/Collins signing, what are the odds I can still make it to a 10am seminar? Again, I'm basing this on my experience from when I went 10 years ago but there were people lining up at 5AM or earlier on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. If they are giving out wristbands for a 9:30 signing and you show up at 9 you probably won't get one. The lines move decently after the players start signing but depending on where you are in the line and how many signings they are doing you could still spend an hour+ waiting.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 08:09 PM) Appreciate the comments fellas. I'm not interested in getting into tournaments because I simply don't have 4-5 days a week to dedicate, but definitely looking to join some local league for competitive fun. I did buy a $200 ball, got it drilled at the pro shop I got it from. Everything feels great and I'm really enjoying my ball so far. This might be a really good thing, but I have been doing incredibly well at picking up my spares. I don't often string together strikes, but I did put together another mid-500's series this past Tuesday and another 500 this past Thursday. I felt pretty good on Thursday because in my final two games I left only one open frame and that was with few strikes. As you said, the games were like 185 and 195. As of now I'm inconsistent with my first ball. I've just recently started to actually get hook on my ball, but it's inconsistent yet. Sometimes it doesn't make it to the pocket, sometimes it gets too much of the head pin, and sometimes it drifts to the backdoor pocket. Sometimes it hits the pocket right on the money, though, and those feel nice. I'm just working on the repetition there and no doubt I'll make some progress soon enough. If I can get some more consistent strikes and keep up my propensity to pick up spares, I'll be really happy with the progress I've made in only a few months. Sounds like you are on the right path. Getting better is just a matter of practice and consistency. Even the pro bowlers miss the pocket sometimes. That just means that you did something different. And there are literally dozens of things you can mess up on every throw. When you miss you have to figure out what you did different and try to correct it on the next shot. Could be you missed your mark. Or you were off-balance. Or didn't get enough lift on your throw. Or your footwork was off. Or any number of things. Then there are the times where you hit the pocket perfectly and the pins just don't fall right. That's just bad luck. QUOTE (South Sider @ Jan 21, 2017 -> 08:09 PM) As an aside, my buddy is an absolute freak of nature. Last time he seriously bowled was in high school (~10 years ago) and he started joining me twice a week and throws his dads old ball the same way he did in high school, which is thumbless. His accuracy is insane. He has had several 200+ games in only a couple of months, and just this past Thursday had a 277 which was part of a 700 series. Everything I read online says thumbless bowling can be very inconsistent but he's just got his style down and it works for him. He started worrying me with talk of learning how to bowl like everyone else, using the thumb and everything. I argue that it might be a tough transition for him, especially since we're bowling mostly for fun and maybe for competition some time this year. Furthermore, I argue that he is enjoying great success with his style of bowling and why fix what isn't broken? He did mention that he wants to be able to adjust to different lane conditions should he go to different bowling alleys since one time we went to a different bowling center and his ball had almost no hook at all despite the revolutions he puts on it. I know a guy that bowls with no thumb. Like your buddy, he's really good. I've seen him throw a 300 game before. Really, there is no "right way" to bowl. It's whatever you're comfortable with and whatever works. Arguably the best bowler in the world (Jason Belmonte) is a two-hander. If he's having trouble adjusting to different lanes he might think about getting another ball or 2. If he's not getting any hook then maybe he needs a ball that reacts better to oily lanes. With the HS bowlers they all have at least 3 balls. One for oily lanes, one for dry lanes and a spare ball. Although many of them have 5 or 6.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 20, 2017 -> 11:45 AM) Wow, says a lot that only one kid really made it out alive of that group. So the moral of the story is, don't be friends with Rabbit.

QUOTE (South Sider @ Jan 17, 2017 -> 04:50 PM) Heh, I actually bought a ball in November and have been practicing twice a week with some friends in anticipation of eventually joining a league. I had my first 500 series last week (yay) and have been finally starting to get my ball hooking nicely. Any tips for beginners? If you haven't been bowling long a 500 series is pretty good. As Alpha said, it's all about repetition. Same stance, same footwork, same back-swing, same release every single time. Then it's about making minor adjustments based how the ball is reacting to the lane and how fast the oil breaks down. If you're just wanting to join a league to have fun, then I'd say get a decent ball (probably in the $130 - $150) range and make sure it's drilled properly to fit you. The really good pro shops will actually watch you bowl a few frames and drill your ball based on your throw. If you're looking to eventually get into tournaments and make some money then it's a matter of practicing a lot. 3 games 4-5 times a week. Although the best advise IMO is simply work on your spares. Anybody can throw a strike but open frames will kill your game. Even a clean game with mostly spares should put you in the 170 - 180 range. Make sure you know how to pick up the basic spares. 7-pin, 10-pin, 4-pins, 6-pin, 7-4, 6-10, 1-3-6, 1-2, ect...

New year, new thread I guess. The HS bowling season just finished up for us. My daughter was on JV the entire year but both varsity and JV went undefeated in regular season matches. She finished the season with a 180 average and set a new personal high game of 256. That was tied for 2nd highest game of the season. One other girl got a 257. They were in quite a few tournaments and invites throughout the season and won most of them or at least placed 2nd. They only finished 3rd in one tournament. I wasn’t there but I heard they all had a really, really bad day. They are still ranked #1 or #2 in the state though depending on who you ask. Same story with the JV team although they actually bowled at the varsity level in a few of the tournaments. They finished 6th, 8th and 3rd in those. Which is pretty good for a JV team because in most of the tournaments there were 10 - 15 teams. The best was yesterday when they had a freshman/sophomore tournament. They didn’t even bother sending the two best sophomores because they’ve been bowling varsity since they were freshman and would’ve just destroyed everyone. There were only 4 girls teams and 15 boys teams. Our girls took first and would’ve actually placed 3rd had they had been bowling against the boys teams. Our boys team took first as well. It was funny though because they had the girls bowling on the same lanes as the boys. After each game teams on even lanes would move one pair right and odd lanes would go one pair left. Well the girls chant when they bowl. A lot. Loudly. I think that unnerved quite a few of them. Besides the fact that the girls were better than them. So now we get a few weeks break and then the spring leagues start up. I’ll be bowling with her in another Adult/youth league coming up in February. I’ve open bowled a few times but haven’t been on a league since October/November.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jan 13, 2017 -> 08:38 AM) I hate that people still insist on calling this Obamacare, because the Republicans successfully branded it as such. The ACA needs fixes, but that doesn't mean it needs to be repealed because of reasons... I think more control needs to be exerted over drug and healthcare prices if this is ever going to work. QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jan 13, 2017 -> 12:26 PM) People dont hold their elected officials accountable. Im sure youve read the stories about people using Obamacare who voted for Trump/others who said things like "Oh we just dont believe theyll get rid of it." Then you have people like this:

Blockbuster's biggest failure IMO was when they decided to get rid of late fees and instead jacked up the prices on rentals. The last time I was ever in a Blockbuster it was sometime in the early 2000's. I wanted to rent a PlayStation game with a friend of mine. We picked out the game, got to the counter, saw how much it would cost and immediately put the game back and went down the road to another video store. It may have even been a Family Video we went to that night. Late fees suck but I wasn't willing to pay 2 or 3 times what it cost to rent a video somewhere else just to not have to worry about having one. We have at least 3 Family Videos near my house but I don't think I've been into any of them in at least a year.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 12, 2017 -> 08:13 AM) There are only 3 states which require elementary schools to even give a regular scheduled recess to students. It's just a shame. Is this state one of them? Because for some reason they are requiring my daughter to continue to take PE even though she's behind in credits and on her 5th year of HS. Seems to me that it would make more sense to fill her schedule with the classes required to graduate including the ones she needs to make up from previous years.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Jan 10, 2017 -> 01:28 PM) I've never done Soxfest. Is it worth going just the Sunday? I'd be interested in getting a couple autographs but don't want to spend the whole day in lines. The panels sound cool. The very first year I went (2003 or so IIRC) I went on Saturday only. It was fun but there wasn't really enough time to get to everything. So we started getting weekend passes the next few years. I haven't been to one since 2006 but I would think if you're only going for one day, Sunday wouldn't be a great day. But that kinda depends on what you are looking for or looking to do. I've always thought that most of the "good stuff" happened on Friday or Saturday. I haven't seen a schedule but I would think most of the bigger name players and the good panels are already over by Sunday. IMHO, if you are going to go (and can afford it since they jacked up the prices) get the weekend pass with the hotel room.

US Cellular had a special offer just before Christmas where if you bought 2 Samsung phones you would get a 58" smart TV for free. My wife and I were thinking about getting new phones anyway so we went ahead and got the deal. The TV was delivered today. Our old one is a 40" and it's on a stand behind the box. The box is sitting on the floor.

I got WatchDogs 2 for Christmas and have been playing it the last few days. Been doing mostly side missions but I figure I'm about 1/3 of the way through the main story. It's definitely better than the first one although I can't help but compare it to GTA V where it falls a little short. On one hand, I wish there was a way to modify and save vehicles. On the other hand, the driving mechanics aren't that great and you can simply fast-travel most of the time anyway. I do like the fact that you have to ability to climb up buildings and other obstacles and use RC drones and cars for getting to the difficult to reach places. Although it seems to make the multi-player hacking missions more difficult for the hacker/easier for the hackee (is that a word?). I've only had 2 people come into my game to try and hack me and found them pretty easily both times. It's also weird to see another person come into your game and just run around. There are only a couple of interactions but I wish one of them was "Sorry, I don't want to team up with you right now." 95% of the time I like to play solo.

I'm off all next week. Technically I'm listed as the "oncall" number for any IT problems but they are pretty rare since only a handful of people actually do anything over the break.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 10:26 AM) Reading some people pointing out that a big driver in the US and Russia pulling back from an "arms race" is that an arms race pushes the probability of accidents higher - there's a legendary 20 minute stretch in 1983 when a Soviet computer sent out a false alarm saying the U.S. had launched missiles at the Soviets and it came down to basically one guy saying his gut said it was a false alarm and waiting 20 minutes to see if he was vaporized to avoid a retaliatory strike. Sounds like the ending of War Games.

Our varsity girls set a couple of records this past weekend. Had the news at their practice yesterday. Link

I'm already having this same discussion elsewhere but just because a movie is set on or around Christmas doesn't make it a Christmas movie. As much as people think it's clever to include them every year, movies like Die Hard, Gremlins and Rocky 4 do not count. They aren't movies about the holiday itself. They are about events that just happen to take place around the holiday. It's a small albeit distinct difference IMO.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Dec 19, 2016 -> 02:27 PM) lol. If you were trying to pick out an NES game present, why didn't you choose a small rectangular box? THIS LARGE, HEAVY CYLINDER MUST BE BUBBLE BOBBLE! To be fair, my family is known for wrapping presents in boxes 2 and 3 times bigger than the actual present. Many times there are multiple boxes/layers of gift wrap to get through. It's also possible that I though it was a GI Joe vehicle or something as well.