jasonxctf

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 03:22 AM) If Lillibridge didn't suck defensively, then Jenks wouldn't have had to go 2 innings. Lillibridge is just a terrible defensive player. Way to go Jenks! so if Beckham is out for a while, do you put Teahan at 3B and Vizquel at 2B?

as mad as i am at ozzie right now, you have to seriously wonder who he's supposed to go to in the bullpen. Sale is fine Jenks is overworked Linebrink sucks Pena blows Santos is out of gas Who do you have left... Carlos Torres and Lucas Harrell. Does this seem like a playoff caliber bullpen? 4 rookies, 1 over-the-hill reliever, 1 never has been and an inconsistent closer? I hope the Sox pull the rabbit out of the hat, but if they don't it all comes down to 2 reasons. 1) DH by committee push by Ozzie 2) Kenny's inability to bring in a bullpen arm.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 03:20 PM) Definitely true. The stimulus money clearly created or saved jobs, but so far, the positive effect that has had on private industry has been small or non-existent. and i think that was the problem with the stimilus program all together and quite frankly some other iniatives that the administration rolls out. they dont do a good enough job of telling people the reasonable expectations of the program. so people either assume that this program (or any program) will be the be-all end-all solution to any/all problems, or the other side sets the bar so damn high that success can never be reached in their eyes. imagine where we'd be if there was no tarp, no stimulus and no lifeline extended to the car companies. What would unemployment, banking and the economy look like then?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 01:51 PM) Because those guys are ALWAYS right. See: Greenspan, Alan. More bad news: Economy coming to a screeching halt. Better than expected... http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Economic-gro...set=&ccode=

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 10:32 PM) http://www.nationalreview.com/battle10/244...ichael-sandoval when it comes to economic issues, i think i'll take the words of a chief economist at one of the nation's leading financial houses over a freshman senator running for re-election.

Joining the backlash against House Majority leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) economic speech yesterday, Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist, said Boehner was "just wrong" to call the $787 billion stimulus spending "a failure." If there was no stimulus at all, Zandi said, unemployment would be at around 11.5% rather than 9.5%. "I think if we had not had the stimulus, estimates put forward by the Congressional Budget Office are absolutely right: we'd have 2.5-3 million fewer jobs than we'd have today," he said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast briefing this morning. What needs to change are people's expectations, he said. "The stimulus did exactly what it was intended to do. It was intended to end the recession, jump-start the economy, and it did that," said Zandi, who has advised both Obama and John McCain in the past. As Zandi points out, the government spent "a minor amount" of stimulus money in the first quarter, which jumped to $100 billion in the second quarter and another $100 billion in the third quarter. "It's that key change that provides the economic juice...that's when the recession ended," Zandi said. "This is why the benefits of stimulus are fading, because we've gone from $100 billion in spending to zero."

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 04:31 PM) You don't think the X millions hired for the census messed up those numbers? 800,000 people were hired as temp census workers. Each on average worked 19 hours a week for 6 weeks. Also, as previously reported, in 1990 and 2000 the census workers hiring/firing had very little if not zero effect the BLS unemployment numbers.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 04:15 PM) Ok fine, here's the unemployment numbers: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/...aspx?Symbol=USD and that's my exact point. The unemployment level has dropped by 0.6% in the past 9 months. It's not a ton, but it's nothing to disregard either. I'm interested to see what happens between now and Dec. You've got students (Hs and college) who were working hours this summer as cheap labor at some businesses. (either full time or part time) If those positions are truly necessary, they will now need to be filled again.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 04:02 PM) Really? Is that why unemployment claims keep rising? http://www.cnbc.com/id/38768328/Weekly_Job...ump_Hit_500_000 those numbers are misleading and at the end of the day, not that important. it doesn't tell you how many people were hired during those months. So while initial unemployment claims may go up, so might hiring.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 02:54 PM) I think more likely is that this kind of stuff has been put off as long as possible, and for many it is getting to the point where it has to be done. i'm in the industry and I can tell you that this is true. There is pent-up demand out there and at somepoint, it's going to have to move. It kind of reminds me a bit of the technology sales slowdown of 2003. You can only use that old PC for so long...

ELFA Leasing Index Shows Equipment Finance Sector Continues to Strengthen Monday, August 23, 2010 The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association released its Monthly Leasing & Financing Index (MLFI) for the month of July, showing a 17% increase when compared to the same period in 2009. Respondents said they financed $5.6 billion of new equipment in July, compared with $5.5 billion in May and $4.8 billion a year earlier. The July increase in originations was the strongest in two years. "Financing demand appears to be picking up," said ELFA president William G. Sutton. "Our data mirrors recently reported government statistics showing the annual rate of overall business investment in equipment and software up nearly 22% in the second quarter. It appears we're heading in the right direction and our members remain cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue." The July increase marked the fourth straight month of year-over-year growth in the financing survey, following 20 consecutive months of declines caused by the recession and reduced access to lending. Credit quality is mixed. Receivables over 30 days increased marginally to 3.5%, up from 3.3% in the prior month, but improved when compared to the year-earlier period (3.9%). Charge-offs fell to 1.5% when compared to the previous month (1.8%) and the same period in the previous year (1.7%). The number of credit approvals stabilized at 70% in July compared to the previous month, and improved compared to the same period the prior year (66%). Thirty-six percent of participating organizations reported submitting more transactions for approval during the month. Finally, total headcount for equipment finance companies remained relatively flat during the June-July period. Supplemental data shows that small business and construction lead the underperforming sectors. "There have been some positive signs in the industry," said Crit DeMent, Chairman, CEO, LEAF Financial Corporation. "In addition to the recent encouraging trends in origination growth and portfolio performance, the asset back securitization market seems to be strengthening for equipment leasing. Several lessors have completed transactions in 2010, and investors have been very receptive to our asset class because of its relatively good performance. The latter half of the year promises to be even stronger as issuers and rating agencies become more comfortable operating under some of the new government regulations. The return of this critical source of capital is a vital component to the long-term success of many in our industry, especially among independents and captives."

http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE67N55X20100824

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 05:41 PM) Coach Newton Basically borrowing a few of his strategies . . . Basically I will be recruiting, recruiting, recruiting The long green line will become the purple pack, they already have really short hair :-) It is a really short season so about 1/3 LSD, about 1/3 fartlek, and some speed work leading up to the big District meet. Working with my 7th graders on a year round running program will be the key for me next year. Now I have to take whomever comes through the door and in whatever shape they are in. Ideas? I'd love to hear them. At Schaumburg we followed the philosophy of Al Carius from North Central. http://northcentralcardinals.com/coaches.aspx?rc=121 My coach excelled under Al and passed it along to us. Not sure how similar this is to York's program. As for ideas.. I've always embraced the Run for Fun or Run for PR's idea. I think too often coaches focus on their Top 7 too much while neglecting the rest of the team. For fun, at the junior high level we had a few things... - 1x per year we did a 7-Eleven slurpie run. We all brought $2 ran a 3 mile loop to 7-Eleven and walked back. - 1x per year we did a Baskin Robbins/Dairy Queen run. Same idea. - We had the 100 mile club. So we all set goals of running 100 miles in meets/practices over a 2 month period. At the end, whoever achieved the goal got a t-shirt and some kind of certificate. - We run on Saturday mornings too. Not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Little bit more relaxing then the after school practices. Coach would always bring doughnuts/chocolate milk for the team afterwards. We also made a point, through brothers/sisters of teammates, to go watch the local high school kids or college kids at meets in the area. We looked up to those guys and they embraced us too.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 04:43 PM) Were you a Yorkie? Nope. Schaumburg.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 02:39 PM) This can't be right. If they were unanimous, they would have reached a verdict on those charges, no? whoops misread this quote.. my bad. Jurors set the stage for Tuesday's verdict when they told Judge James Zagel last week they were unable to reach a decision on all but two of the 24 counts. Zagel urged jurors to keep trying, and by Tuesday that unanimity had dropped to just one count. The count they ended up losing 100 percent agreement on was a bribery charge alleging the ex-governor tried to shake down former U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, juror Stephen Wlodek said. Wlodek, 36, of Bartlett said between one and five jurors sided with Blagojevich on every count.

he just think, the 2nd graders in my wife's class this year were born after 9/11.

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 17, 2010 -> 11:26 AM) The number one goal they have for the program this year is to increase participation. That's why they approached me. Gee, I thought it was because I was all-conference in college. The soccer has me a little intimidated but basically I have to follow the HS's system. were you a cross country guy in college? i can tell you that I ran at one of the best programs in high school here in Illinois. The success at the high school level really started at the junior high level which was also quite successful. I ended up running (and quite poorly) at the D1 level in College. If you aren't familiar with cross country that much, I can share some insights on good things we did. PM Me if you want.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Aug 18, 2010 -> 02:32 PM) Hearing what the jurors have to say, they were pretty close (11-1) on some counts. But it sounds like the jurors were confused with the evidence and time line the government presented. I'm confident on retrial they'll tighten things up, maybe present fewer witnesses, and try to be more clear in what they're presenting. One thing seems pretty clear - they all didn't buy the "Blago is just a loud moron" defense. I also heard that they were unanimous in deciding innocent in the extortion charges with Rahm Emmanuel.

I'll give you a live example of why people are struggling with a refinance of mortages today. My wife and I bought our home in Dec 2006. We put 20% down so we could avoid having to pay PMI and wouldn't have to escrow our taxes. From then until today, rates have dropped nearly 2%. According to Zillow (which seems to be the site that all banks use along with appraisals to assess your value) my homes value has dropped by $70,000. And quite frankly, we're lucky with that number. Many other areas in Chicagoland value has dropped by a far greater percentage. Thus, with the way the amortization schedule works, the loss in home value exceeds the principal paid in each month. So for me to re-finance today, again without having to pay PMI or Escrow my taxes, I would need to come to closing with nearly $19,000. Plus, I would have to pay closing costs, fees, titles, assessments, etc. So I'd estimate that the total cost would be around $21-22,000. That would be to save $200 per month in payments. So it would take me 100+ months, to break even on what I'd have to bring to closing. Now, I could re-finance, pay the $3,000 in costs/fees but now have to pay PMI to save the $200, however PMI alone would be $150 per month. So where's the savings? So I'm forced to sit on the sidelines until either (1) My property value starts to recover or (2) I continue to pay down the principal to get me back to 20% of the value... all while keeping my fingers crossed that rates don't go back up.

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 01:28 PM) Is there a proposal somewhere to change the vesting requirements for SS? As it is now, you have to have 40 quarters of contributions to qualify. The Social Security website http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/de...vbll6cHFyN2s%3D offered this If your example is correct, wouldn't teachers, who never paid in, receive benefits? Clergy?This would mean a "stay at home mom" at the age of 65 work a year and receive benefits? Or a teacher could work 40 years paying into their retirement, retire, than work a few months or year and receive benefits? If that is true, it should be changed. I can tell you, that reading my wife's annual social security newsletter/statement, she does not get a thing unless I die. (she's a teacher) She worked part-time in high school and college and has some credits but is probably 5 years short of working full-time in the corporate world, from getting the lowest level of benefits, on her own, that's possible.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 14, 2010 -> 03:19 PM) Ok. So now lets see manditory health care. Generally, you are eligible for Medicare if you or your spouse worked for at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment and you are 65 years or older and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. If you aren’t yet 65, you might also qualify for coverage if you have a disability or with End-Stage Renal disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant). Here are some simple guidelines. You can get Part A at age 65 without having to pay premiums if: -You already get retirement benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board. -You are eligible to get Social Security or Railroad benefits but haven't yet filed for them. -You or your spouse had Medicare-covered government employment. If you are under 65, you can get Part A without having to pay premiums if you have: -Received Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for 24 months. -End-Stage Renal Disease and meet certain requirements. So it seems pretty basic to me. Everything is tied to Social Security. So by proving that illegals cant get social security, you also prove that they cant access Medicare. Now, where the grey line comes in, is what to do with someone who walks into an emergency room with say, a broken leg, who is not a citizen and has no insurance. (or nationwide, what to do about this, regardless of citizenship). Should the doctors say, no insurance means no treatment. If you die, you die?

balta/northsidesox are 100% correct in this.

besides terrorist babies... can someone explain the harm of someone being born in this country and then leaving immediately? Also, do people really think that they'll get... - 288 votes in the US House plus - 67 votes in the US Senate plus - 38 states ratification

isnt there something printed on the back of your ticket removing any/all liability from the teams for items that land in the stands. (bats, balls, players, etc)

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 7, 2010 -> 02:28 PM) 3 out of 4 would be great, but I could live with 2-2, a 5-3 road trip with 8 games in 7 days is acceptable to me. exactly.