Y2HH

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 07:56 PM) Huh... see... I pretty much love my job... Yes. I get paid to play on the beach. This is like a Facebook life, where all you see is the glamour, and none of the struggle. Which was kind of my point in the first place.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 01:39 PM) Edited for why I spent 30 years in sales and sales management. Just when I was starting to like you, I find out you once got paid to do those things, and you QUIT to teach?!

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 12:49 PM) Vodka martinis? For shame... Martinis should only be made with gin Incorrect. I'm not a big fan of gin. :/

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 26, 2015 -> 11:25 AM) I would third that advice. I'd also say that the more important part of job satisfaction isn't the actual duties of the job but the people you work with (in many instances) anyway. Who you work with is HUGE in terms of having a good time at work, wherever that may be. I don't care if you are one of those "ohhhhh, I just looooveeee my job" type of people, if those you work with are a bunch of asshats, that love won't last. I don't hate my job...but I wouldn't call it a love fest, either. There are a LOT of things I love more than being at work, such as my family, friends, road trips, good restaurants, a vodka martini, fishing, etc...I'd rather be doing those things than working. But work isn't bad...I don't hate being here, either...but I do it because I'm pretty good at it and I get paid...not because I love it.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 24, 2015 -> 07:22 AM) Here is an insiders thought on what we have done to education. We have jammed the High Schools full of "other stuff" that wasn't present 50 years ago. Health classes, computer classes, career readiness, standardized test remedial classes, etc. that to receive the same core subject education as the grandparents of today's students received, the students now have to attend two years of college. We talk about an Associates Degree being the new HS Diploma. I can honestly say I am working much harder for my money as a HS English teacher than I did as a corporate VP. The stress is different and arguably less. I will have ten students next semester who if they do not pass their state test in English will not graduate with their class. These are English only speakers who just do not have the skills and confidence to pass the test. I am very worried about them. I can tell you heart wrenching stories that a few of my students are going through, eating disorders, parents making decisions that negatively impact their kids, students without food at home, one kid right before Christmas slept a night on the bench at a jail because his mom was arrested and he was afraid to go home alone. Some teachers can block that out, I can't. The disconnect as I see it is between employment and education. For the past decade or two our economy has been growing in lower paying service jobs while our expectations of education are increasing. We are demanding our children learn more and more then accept less and less in employment. We complain about immigrants taking our lowest paying jobs while accepting immigrants who take the highest paying jobs. Why? Because of the nature of the businesses who employ them. Huge tech companies bring in programmers from all over the world or ship the jobs there. They have political power through huge donations and access to politicians. The small farmer who needs a 100 seasonal employees or the restaurant who needs a couple dishwashers doesn't have that pull. Plus, the immigrants taking the minimum wage jobs do not speak English. They are easy targets. We are saving those minimum wage jobs for our children so they can go to work for the immigrant doctors and skilled labor we allow to immigrate. Some great points here, Tex. We try to do too much with too little time these days. Instead of hammering home 5 or 6 subjects over a span of 8 hours (for example), we're now trying to teach 12 subjects with the same allotted time, therefore, while the kids will know a little more about everything, they'll also know far less about certain things, such as history, math, and other historically "core" curriculum. The disconnect I see is that we've "arrived" as a nation, and instead of telling our kids what they need to hear, we tell them to chase their dreams and love what they do -- because we can. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as it reflects the much higher standard of living we have now. Unfortunately, this mindset works for a low percentage of the population who have the right parents and happen to be born into the right circumstances to live through the "struggle period" of chasing dreams, while for others, that chase will result in a struggle that will never end. Historically, we taught our kids the skills in life that would allow them to get decent jobs. Even today, carpenters, plumbers, electricians are things we no longer tell our kids to chase, because they'll result in good jobs later in life, instead we teach them to chase their dreams and play baseball, or be a pop star, or "love what they do", which usually results in low paying jobs when those dreams come up short and they have no real fallback skill. Now, I realize many of you will begin spewing anecdotes here to prove you can, in fact, love what you do AND make really good money doing it, but like I said, for MOST that's simply not a reality. For all the hype you hear about how bad things are, overall, we've never lived better or easier lives in this country. Three generations shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves, as the saying goes, and if I'm not mistaken, we're in the second generation of this now, with many of us telling the third generation everything's going to be all-right, and that they'll want for nothing. Until we're gone, that is, and then their lack of fallback skill means blowing every dime the first two generations left for them to get to that point. And then the fourth generation can start with nothing, and repeat the process all over again. "Don't love your job, love the money it pays ... and use that money to do what you love." -Y2HH, Crushing dreams since 1999.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:52 PM) I'm doing great. Made double last year what I have in the past, and as such my healthcare costs have gone up about 80% and owe more in taxes. Guess what? I'm fine with it. I think having roads and such is pretty neat. Economy's doing well, but they're pretty much engaging in all the same activities they were prior to 2008... I wish we could actually get meaningful regulation, but it ain't gonna happen with this congress. Those roads would be there anyway...and you'd have even more.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:45 PM) Illinois occasionally elects Republicans to state-wide offices, it's not some sign-of-the-times when a Republican wins. Before Obama won in 2006, a Republican held his US Senate seat and now Mark Kirk holds it again. Illinois is still going to overwhelmingly vote (D) for President come 2016 (barring some unforeseen major events). IL is pretty soundly democratic, mostly because of Chicago.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:39 PM) "When a Democrat can win Indiana, you know the party is losing peoples attention" Did you just try to compare IL to IN when it comes to politics? Leave this thread.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:36 PM) Christie hasn't got a shot these days. He's gone off the deep end with his cronyism. He hasn't lost weight. His national poll numbers are pretty terrible. What does it say about your party that you can't get a decent candidate? Who cares about Christie. This coming election is coming down to our US Monarchy: Hillary Clinton vs Jeb Bush. Book it.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:34 PM) That's actually not a surefire thing: "There were some GOP victories in Governor’s races, but in each case there were no coat tails. None of these candidates ran on social issues, Obama, or opposition to the ACA. Look at Rauner who took out Quinn in Illinois, but Democrats in Illinois retained their supermajority in the State Assembly having not lost a single seat." that's from the same article I listed above. Anomalies happen, and sometimes elections actually ARE based on the specific candidate. Underlying numbers in IL look fine still long-term. I'm actually proud to tell people I voted for Rauner, because it means I was smart enough to NOT vote for Quinn.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:14 PM) The statistics all ay otherwise. And I truly don't believe it to be hyperbole. It's just basic projection based on historical statistical events. The odds of the GOP winning a national election anytime soon are incredibly low. That doesn't mean it can't happen, it just means the odds are stacked against it because of rising numbers of voting minorities and the new Blue Wall that is not just opinion, but statistical fact. Oh, and in a Presidential election year, turnout will be significantly higher no matter what, and Dems only need a 2% increase from that higher turnout. When a Republican can win a major election in IL, you know the party is losing peoples attention.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 02:04 PM) Charcoal Weber for me This is my grill - love this unique color http://www.firecraft.com/product/weber-per...cMURhoCFyvw_wcB

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 01:06 PM) Every time I have gone over 210 degrees I have been unhappy with how dry the ribs get, maybe i am doing something wrong. I dont mind the slow cook though. the house smells awesome I wrap them in foil completely -- never dries them out.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 01:01 PM) do you remember the old boys club, i was stab twice there by the Lords. it was in 69 and i was 12 yrs old. I remember it, but we weren't allowed to go around much.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 12:56 PM) i went to Assumption on Calf and 24th. i live in the housing projects in the 60's and went to harrison HS. what school, there was this great taco place right across cook county jail... oh man. at least when i was in trouble in the 70's i didn't have to walk far to go home on a monday morning release. I went to Kanoon (22nd & Kedzie) in the 80's.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 12:51 PM) I slow cook them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 4-5 hours. and baste them every couple hours with a apple cider vinegar/oil/chili powder mix. Then I finish them on the grill with sauce(usually sweet baby rays). If i had a smoker i would use it, but i dont. I want a big green egg really bad though Similar to how I do it -- 275 for 3 hours, finish on the grill (warmer months) or broiler (colder months).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 12:05 PM) This thread is just torture. I'm on a diet (and i'm actually sticking with it, 3 weeks and down 10 lbs) and i'm drooling over all of these delicious foods that I can't have. ORRRRR, you do what I do. Work out as often as you can SO you can eat/drink whatever you want.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) for me and all who grew up there. yes. I went to grade school around there.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) go to mexican town and pick up some taco of barbacoa, a half dozen tamales and 1 can of coke. don't want to fill up on soda. What the hell is Mexican town? Little Village?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 11:11 AM) So hand breaded pork tenderloin sandwich or personal pan pizza for lunch? I'd go with the pork tenderloin sandwich, because Pizza is Pizza and you can have that anywhere.

And for the record, your English may be "broken", as some might call it, but I can understand what you're trying to say just fine. So...your English is fine. It's probably better than a lot of Americans.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 10:49 AM) ohhh all this time i thought it was my english, or lack of. the problem is, with my screen on my laptop, i can't judge the widths and i do not want the sentence to continue in length. so i try to control it for what i thought would be easier reading for you guys. if this was a problem, i wish it would have been brought up sooner. i would have worked on it sooner. so this is not easier reading??? It's harder to read, because it breaks up sentences in a way they shouldn't be broken. Example (harder to read): It's much harder to read it this way than to just type it all on a single line. Example (easier to read): It's much harder to read it this way than to just type it all on a single line. Take one of the things you wrote above: #1) the problem is, with my screen on my laptop, i can't judge the widths and i do not want the sentence to continue in length. so i try to control it for what i thought would be easier reading for you guys. #2) The problem is, with my screen on my laptop, I can't judge the widths and I do not want the sentence to continue in length. So I try to control it for what I thought would be easier reading for you guys. Same sentences, #2 is easier to read.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 09:03 AM) b/c i am extremely bad in english and english comp. i have gone to many tutors and classes to improve. this is the best i will ever get. something as simple as english for some is not as easy for others. I don't mean the way you use the language -- I can understand you just fine. It's the way you format things. In other words, what I mean is why do you write things like this? When it should be: In other words, what I mean is why do you write things like this?

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 23, 2015 -> 08:24 AM) The paid guys got to have their say, what say you? The economy is looking much better than it has in years. Our war situation is greatly improved. Seems like we're doing pretty good as a country right now. In some regards, the US is doing quite well, especially in comparison to other nations. But it's easy to cherry pick the good and leave out the bad when it comes to evaluating the health of a nation. For example, the unemployment rate has come down, however, they're mostly low paying jobs. As a matter of fact, median income has fallen, so more people may be working again, but they're making less than they were before. For all the moves the government made to assist the middle class, the middle class has NEVER been worse off, and the top 1% have never been better off, so this was either terribly written policy, or the bulls*** they're spewing about helping the middle class is just that. The stock market is soaring (good for me), and I work in IT (good for me), which has huge competition for jobs at the moment, but other industries aren't faring so well. I think the state of the nation would very much lie in the eye of the beholder. I've never been doing better, but for me to say things are great doesn't mean they're great for everyone.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 22, 2015 -> 02:17 PM) oh man i am stuff. my brother had 8 home runn inn pizza shipped in overnite. we just ate 2 of them..... oh man, i miss the pizza from chi. nothing beats it. i tried to ship in some deep dish several yrs ago, it is not quite the same reheated. with the sausage and cheese you can tell the difference. now let me make a comparison on something you can relate to. the pizza down here is tied between pizza hut and pappa johns. for being the best. the other local pizza has shrimp, crawfish and even alligator meat pizza. now you know how i am suffering. Can I ask why you type like this? It's very frustrating to read at times.