Jake

I would guess that the rounded back of the HTC One would make it substantially harder to bend

Pew Research, widely regarded as the best survey firm in the USA, released some findings from a representative sample of Americans asked various questions about religion. Here are some highlights. 49% believe churches should express political views to congregation. White evangelicals (66%) most likely to say that churches should express these views. 41% believe that politicians do not share enough about their faith in public. 30% say they do it too much. For republicans, 53% say not enough do versus 17% saying too much. Democrats have 42% saying too much vs. 30% not enough. 68% of white evangelicals say too little. "Unaffiliated" Americans as a group have 56% saying too much. 59% of Americans want congresspeople to have "strong religious beliefs." 72% of Republicans want this vs 50/50 split for Dems. The only subgroup that disagrees is the unaffiliateds (68% disagree) 50% of Republicans say Democrats are unfriendly towards religion. Equal amounts (30%) say Obama is friendly towards and unfriendly towards religion. 57% of white evangelicals say he is unfriendly toward religion. List of % saying that there is "a lot of discrimination" against these groups: LGBT people (65%) Muslims (59%) Blacks (54%) Hispanics (50%) Jews (32%) Evangelical Christians (31%) Atheists (27%) Catholics (19%) Some highlights of the group by group perceptions of race... White evangelicals think they are the most discriminated against group, more frequently rating evangelical christians as facing "a lot of discrimination" than any of the other groups. While 50% think evangelicals are facing discrimination, they think catholics are the least discriminated against. White evangelicals are also the group least likely to believe Muslims face a lot of discrimination. Just 36% think blacks face a lot of discrimination. Hispanic catholics are the most likely to perceive hispanics and catholics to be discriminated against (77% for hispanics, 41% for catholics), exceeding the perceptions of discrimination by the general group of hispanics. Blacks were the most likely to perceive discrimination for atheists, even moreso than the "unaffiliated" group, which one assumes contains many atheists. White "mainline protestants" are the least likely to believe Jews face a lot of discrimination, followed closely by white catholics. Interestingly, black protestants are the most likely to believe Jews face discrimination. Others... 34% of evangelicals say it has become more difficult to be religious in recent years. 18% of Catholics feel that way. 31% of "persons with no religion" say it has become easier to be religious in recent years. Most of all groups say it hasn't changed much. 30% of white evangelicals say they believe they should be considered a minority due to their religious beliefs. Compare to just 10% of white mainline protestants or 8% of white Catholics. Party ID by ethnoreligious group... All - 48% dem/lean dem vs 43% rep/lean rep White evangelicals - 72% rep/lean rep vs 20% dem/lean dem (gap has been widening for past 20 years) White mainline - 49% rep/lean rep vs 41% dem/lean dem (gap has been narrowing recently, hasn't been very wide at any point in past 20 years) Black protestants - 84% dem/lean dem vs 10% rep/lean rep (gap has narrowed in past couple of years) White catholic - 53% rep/lean rep vs 39% dem/lean dem (gap is widening, had been relatively even most of past 20 years) Hispanic catholic - 67% den/lean dem vs 26% rep/lean rep (no particular trend) Jews - 70% dem/lean dem vs 26% rep/lean rep (slight widening of the gap recently) Unaffiliated - 63% dem/lean dem vs 27% rep/lean rep (much wider than 20 years ago, but not particular trend right now) Gay rights... Since May 2013, there has been 5% increase (45% to 50%) in people saying "homosexual behavior is sinful" 82% of evangelics say yes to this, while just 42% of white mainline do. 44% of catholics. Black protestants also high on this one, 77%. The strongest "favor gay marriage" group was white mainline protestants, with 57% in favor. Compare to 75% oppose for white evangelicals. Next highest was 51% oppose for black protestants. A majority (52%) of Catholics favor gay marriage. Abortion... 55% say abortion "should be legal in all or most cases." 40% say the opposite. Men and women have insignificant difference in response to this question, interestingly enough. All age groups have a strong majority "legal" response, except 65+ (46%) 44% of rep/lean rep say legal vs 65% of dem/lean dem 30% of white evangelicals say legal vs 65% of white mainline, 52% of catholics, 56% of black protestants, 75% of unaffiliated

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 24, 2014 -> 07:48 AM) While I've never been one to do this, I guess it applies for those that do. The conversion from huge phones in the early 90's to small phones by 2000' back to huge phones in 2012 is somewhat ironic. While they've become infinitely more usable, they have become less portable and prone to breakage. There was a time where cracked screens or bent phones just wasn't a thing. I think people need to adapt to that or adapt to using those huge, invincible otter boxes. This is a time where Samsung is vindicated for using plastic. I've been watching YouTube videos of people trying to bend the Note 3 and while there is a little give mid-rip, it is back to normal when you let you go. Where Apple f***ed up here, though, is the thinness. The other iPhones could bend, but only if you did something crazy to them. Making these so much bigger and thinner made them relatively flimsy. I'm a sort of phone free agent, and as someone has had a phone break in their pocket, there's no way I feel comfortable getting an i6+ at this point.

lmao

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 06:10 PM) Personal preference I guess...I don't really watch movies or anything on my iPad mini (or phone), I use it to read/browse, and 5.5" is more than big enough for that. You know, stopping to think about this for a minute, it's truly amazing how much has changed since 2007 when it comes to phones/tablets/computers, especially phones and tablets...it's truly spectacular where we've come from in such a short amount of time. First 3.5" was considered huge, complete with low-res screens, then 4" with higher resolutions came around, then 5", then 6"...and it's crazy how much it's changed our habits. Browsing from the couch used to be a chore (in comparison to today), but with bigger phones and tablets, it's now quite amazing. And how about toilet browsing? I can waste a day on the pot with today's phones

Carlos Sanchez is your SS

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 02:29 PM) The sack statistic in the metric seems inherently flawed. I didn't see much Jay could do on the sacks that happened to him in the Jets game. That wasn't all that bad of a game as a whole, given the defense he played against. Where does opposition defense fall into the ranks? Also, I don't quite get how he is 22 out of 35 QB's when he is in the top 10 (I believe) in Yards, TD's, TD to Int Ratio, and QB Rating. It isn't that all sacks go against the QB, just that they are sometimes attributed to the QB so I'm not sure which are and which aren't. Unlike baseball's sabermetrics, there is not really an attempt to remove the contributions from context. So all the numbers will be affected by how good the opponent is. A really good play against a bad team is the same as one against a good team. Not a big surprise that the team didn't put up an amazing grade against a good D like NYJ or (possibly) SF.

More on iOS 8 issues: http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobi.../d/d-id/1315984 Cliffs: -slowed WiFi speeds -faster battery drain, ranging from ridiculous to marginal -Crittercism analytics shows a huge increase in app crashes (I wonder if this has been observed with past updates) Also, something I've feared happening on several different phones since it broke my Motorola SLVR: iPhone 6 plus units getting bent in users' pockets

Looking through PFF's QB stuff, here are some knocks I see for Jay: -weak YPA -compared to other QBs, relatively un-victimized by drops -his accuracy % (completion percentage that counts drops as completions, doesn't count spikes or throwaways) ranks 21/31 -27 out of 35 QBs throw a higher portion of their throws under pressure, suggesting he's had a lower difficulty level -related: he's sacked a high portion of the time he is pressured, taking sacks counts against the QB's grade Worth noting that PFF's grades so far have league-wide QB play being pretty weak. Jay is 22 out of 35 QBs. Also worth noting that yesterday was possibly Jay's worst game so far. 23/38 (60%), 2 TD, fumble lost, 225 yards, sacked 4 times, 1 batted pass, 2 deflected passes. Anyway, this negative rating isn't all that negative. It's early in the season. He's one 300 yard/3 TD/65% completion game from being in the upper tier

Some stuff from PFF. Overall grade is just the sum of the grades assigned to additional portions of the game. I'm adding the most notable contributor to their strong or poor overall grade as well Top D performers yesterday: -Kyle Fuller (+5.0 overall, +4.2 pass coverage) -Jared Allen (+3.1 overall, +1.6 run defense) -Stephen Paea (+2.5 overall, +3.9 pass rush) -LaMarr Houston (+1.8 overall, +2.5 pass rush) Worst D performers yesterday: -Lance Briggs (-3.2 overall, -2.6 pass coverage) -Isaiah Frey (-2.1 overall, -2.8 pass coverage) -Will Sutton (-1.2 overall, -1.7 pass rush, -0.8 penalty) Top O performers yesterday: -Brian De La Puente (+1.3 overall, +1.1 run block) -Kyle Long (+0.8 overall, +0.9 pass block) Worst O performers yesterday: -Michael Ola (-2.2 overall, -1.3 run block) -Jordan Mills (-1.6 overall, -1.1 pass block) -Jermon Bushrod (-1.1 overall, -0.6 pass block, -0.7 penalty) -Brandon Marshall (-1.0 overall, -1.6 pass) -Jay Cutler (-0.9 overall, -1.2 pass) Some yearly numbers...omitting guys with absurdly low snap counts Best D: -Kyle Fuller (+5.9 overall, +5.8 pass coverage) -Jay Ratliff (+5.3 overall, +3.7 run defense) -LaMarr Houston (+2.9 overall, +3.5 pass rush) -Willie Young (+1.7 overall, +1.6 run defense) -Danny McCray (+1.1 overall, +1.1 run defense) Worst D: -DJ Williams (-3.3 overall, -2.3 run defense) -Ego Ferguson (-3.0 overall, -1.3 run defense) -Isaiah Frey (-2.1 overall, -2.8 pass coverage) **only played 1 game** -Ryan Mundy (-1.6 overall, -1.2 run defense) -Will Sutton (-1.2 overall, -2.7 pass rush) Best O: -Brian De La Puente (+6.7 overall, +4.4 run block) -Kyle Long (+5.2 overall, +4.5 pass block) -Jermon Bushrod (+2.4 overall, +1.5 pass block) -Brandon Marshall (+0.9 overall, +2.5 run block) **not a typo** Worst O: -Jordan Mills (-5.1 overall, -3.9 run block) -Matt Forte (-2.1 overall, -1.6 rush) -Santonio Holmes (-2.1 overall, -1.8 pass) -Josh Morgan (-1.1 overall, -1.7 pass) -Jay Cutler (-1.0 overall, -1.6 pass) Other notables: Alshon would have a decent grade if not for a penalty(ies). Martellus has the team's highest passing game grade, but has very low pass block and run block grades leading to an overall neutral grade. Jared Allen has slightly negative overall grade with good run defense, bad pass rush. Bostic has a +1.0 season grade, just barely missing the cut for the top D performers of the season list. He has been pretty good in run D and slightly bad in pass coverage. Briggs has a poor grade due to very bad pass coverage and a penalty. Will Sutton has been very good in run D, but just as bad in pass rush and was penalized. They have Tim Jennings dinged for bad pass coverage, but making up for it in run support. Cumulative team ranks: Top O: 1. Browns (+21.8) 2. Saints (+21.0) 3. Bengals (+16.3) 4. Redskins (+16.2) 5. Colts (+13.5) 10. Bears (-0.9) 28. Cards (-32.2) 29. Pats (-39.4) 30. Chiefs (-48.4) 31. Bucs (-53.9) 32. Jaguars (-58.3) Top D: 1. Dolphins (+44.4) 2. Giants (+26.1) 3. Seahawks (+16.5) 4. Pats (+15.3) 5. Chargers (+13.1) 8. Bears (+6.9) 28. Rams (-23.3) 29. Browns (-30.0) 30. Steelers (-32.1) 31. Bucs (-37) 32. Jags (-50.5) Bears 30 in special teams, though in their defense they released Draughn who was responsible for upwards of half of their negative grade in this regard

I need a haul to trade Alexei. He's one of the top 3-5 SS in the game and has been for years, is relatively cheap, under control, and we don't have a clear replacement. If there is no good return out there, then there is no risk in keeping him as I have very little fear that he won't live up to expectations for the duration of his contract. I'm very conflicted about what to do about catcher. If not Martin, who I think will ultimately be overpaid, then you're faced with guys who are probably not clearly better options than Flowers. While I can get behind investing in Martin, the main alternative I'd endorse pursuing is getting a younger guy in here. This might be a stipulation for trading Alexei. On the lower end, a guy like Wilin Rosario would be interesting to have in here - could be a Tank-Rosario swap?

They had to make up for that Bostic call anyway

Getting conservative now

Admirable protection given the pass rush they're sending

PFF had Allen as a guy who got quite a few sacks and then never contributed anything else last year

Seems like older gens of iPads are being hit the hardest. Alarmingly low RAM on those devices I'm finding out (512MB? Wow. I know iOS is lean, but still)

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 21, 2014 -> 08:01 PM) It used to be worse... Yes it was worse. And it is better than college OT. Just play it like a quarter so the game resembles the way it's played the rest of the game. Make it shorter if the worry is time.

Avi's O-Swing% is at about 42% for Sept. and 44% for Aug. Still high. This month, he and Abreu have pretty much the same O-Swing%, though, and Avi is substantially better at making contact on those hacks

Still not a fan of NFL's overtime

That bomb by Semien was incredible. One handing it like that is some Manny Ramirez s***

If the Apple subreddit is any indication, iOS 8 is buggier than all hell. My favorite bug is the music app deleting people's tracks whenever they listen to them. Apple starting to get acquainted with the difficulty of rolling out updates to a myriad of devices

I quit watching because every response to a question began with him telling the questioner how he's answered the question previously

Some kids are always "out of control" because they have mental illnesses. For instance, 5% of children have ADHD. That means they will not simply get better because they are being given timeout/scoldings/spankings/etc. That's only one example. It's important to give families leniency in the way they raise their children. Even if we didn't desire to give families broad leeway in the way they do child rearing, no society could hope to enforce draconian rules on these things anyway. With that said, you don't own your child. They are not your property. So you can't do whatever you want with them. They have rights and don't have the ability to stand up for them. We have to make sure we stand up for them as a society and draw lines where we decide lines must be drawn. Anyone that has been involved with DCFS or foster parenting knows that to the best of our knowledge, it is usually best for kids to stick with the people who raised them if it is at all possible/conscionable. So it isn't about taking children away. I'm not 100% convinced that Adrian Peterson is incapable of being a father to his children. After he is punished and hopefully educated, I hope he gets to play some fatherly role in his children's lives. He doesn't get infinite chances to do this, but his children deserve a father. But he has to quit hitting those kids. You cut your little boy's legs up with a f***ing stick, alarming two medical doctors? You have forfeited whatever right other people have for corporal punishment.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 18, 2014 -> 01:32 PM) A really interesting read about Khalil Greene http://www.robrains.com/CARDINALSBASEBALL/...lil-greene.aspx Great read.

66% of smokers don't get cancer. Chances are if you run into a smoker, they're coming out okay