cabiness42

Yeah, I don't think the University keeps any such statistics, but my guess would be that about 2% of male graduates and about 0.01% of female graduates marry somebody who doesn't already have a degree. It doesn't seem possible to them that my wife could start her college education in her 30s.

Granderson isn't the worst guy the Sox could go after, but he is not an OBP guy and that is a bigger problem on this team than power and defense.

If you weren't from either area, that would be a very weird combination. You could be a Spurs fan and a ND football fan, though. That would make sense.

Being Catholic seems to have a lot to do with it for some people.

OK, Notre Dame haters, I'm going to serve one up on a platter for you: One discussion board I belong to is a professional board for ND alums. I've been getting hammered on there for blaming the Republican House for the shutdown. I pointed out that my family was without 100% of our income and one of the irreversible effects is having to 'furlough' our babysitter during the shutdown. One response: "You're lying. If you need a babysitter then your wife is working and you aren't losing 100% of your income. If your wife isn't working then you don't need a babysitter." I'm guessing Soxtalk can outsmart the ND alum and figure out at least one circumstance where my wife is neither gainfully employed nor available to take care of the kids.

I think a gigantic blizzard took care of cutting off access to Mt. Rushmore.

If you feel that way now, just wait until the next 8 years.

Back pay passed the House 407-0. Half of my financial problem is solved.

Minnesota was the king of the Big Ten from the late 30's through the 50's or so.

A man set himself on fire at the National Mall. I really hope somebody got this on video.

I substituted 'p****' for 'candy' and found it to be a much more entertaining read.

Once upon a time, I almost went to grad school at UIUC.

Wasn't Omogrosso on the 60DL?

She had already run over two law enforcement officers. How many does she have to run over before it's OK to shoot her?

I think that sentence tells you everything you need to know about the Tea Party.

I was going to cut her a little bit of slack because there are a handful in Congress who really do live off their salaries, but as soon as I got to the part about her husband being a surgeon I started cursing at my computer screen.

Just wait until the media is able to tie her to one political party or the other.

NOTRE DAME 2012 NATIONAL CHAMPS!!!

You were supposed to have forgotten all about that by now.

Buzz on Twitter about shooting at or near the Capitol. Nothing about it on TV yet.

No, of course that's what they should do. I'm just trying to see what other options might be out there.

The current CR keeps the sequestration levels. What if the Democrats countered with a proposal that delayed the individual mandate for a year, repealed the medical device tax, but raised the CR to the pre-sequestration levels?

The Federal retirement plan isn't exactly a 401k, though it's very similar. In any case, I already have an outstanding loan from when we bought our house, and the rules do not allow for a second loan, nor for refinancing the existing loan. It also doesn't allow for taking out a loan while in a nonpay status.

What agency?

OK, before this gets too far, I want to explain my situation in detail so people know exactly what they'd be supporting. My next paycheck would normally arrive 10/12. If the shutdown ends by Monday, I won't miss a paycheck. However, my backup plan for missing a paycheck is to make a withdrawal from my retirement account, and it takes 10 days to get that money, so I couldn't wait until Monday to make that decision and have gone ahead and requested 4 weeks salary. I figure that 4 weeks is a worst-case scenario in a shutdown, and with us spending money only on food, gas, and paying bills, we can make that 4 weeks salary stretch 6-7 weeks if we need to. Now, what I have lost permanently is the 10% penalty I have to pay on that withdrawal, plus I lose the agency match to my retirement contributions for six months. That's going to add up to about $3000. Now, if Soxtalk feels compelled to share in the loss of that $3000, I'm not going to say no, but I don't want anybody believing that I need money in order to feed my family. At least not for another 4+ weeks.