Jake

My grandfather passed a while back. He fought in the Pacific Theater. I really wasn't old enough to understand what it meant that he fought in the war when he died. All I knew, funny enough, was that grandpa had four belly buttons. That is, he had one belly button and four permanent indentions from the gunshots. I later found out that I very nearly didn't have grandfather (and thus, no mother and thus, no me). Once upon a time, a grenade came in his bunker. Next thing you know, grandpa is laying on this grenade, hoping to save his buddies. It was a dud. Thank goodness

I have to say, I'm really enjoying Windows 8.1. It's not perfect, but I think this is this is the way of the future. I used the original W8 for a little bit while I downloaded the ginormous 8.1 update and I can definitely say that the relatively small changes in 8.1 go a very long way. It is interesting how Microsoft is approaching the update process, as so many apps have feedback features made fairly prominent. The touch gestures are quite nice, especially on a laptop. They make sense and didn't take long to learn. Their app store still needs development, but that's what I expected. There are things like my inability to integrate Google Calendar the way I want to that are a bit annoying. It's also weird to me that Office 2013 can't work in Metro. Overall, I think I'm going to enjoy this OS.

Well, I wouldn't really blame them for doing it, I'll say that much - what is there to lose? Cliff might jumpstart that program

If people are going to suspect Illinois of foul play in getting a recruit like Cliff, take that times 10 for DePaul

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 07:51 PM) Yeah, that U310 has WiFi issues. My friend has one of those, he said the WiFi issues were pretty awful. QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 5, 2013 -> 09:03 PM) We'll see. In the worst case, I'll just get a USB adapter methinks There are a few suggested fixes out there: driver update, turning off the card's power saver settings, reinstallation of Windows (this actually works for some reason), and it seems there is one that has worked for everyone who has claimed to have tried it...something with adjusting some foil within the laptop. I haven't looked into that one too much. Update: 37 mbps I think we're clear!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 05:00 PM) Cohen wasn't talking about gay marriage, but about interracial marriage. Right - I'm not saying we should take him seriously, but generally speaking a group of people feeling uncomfortable about stuff is quite necessary

It's true - conservatives are interested in conservation. Being a conservative often means that a change to culture is not wholly embraced up front until its consequences are clear. This is where we see the difference between conservatism and libertarianism: something like gay marriage will usually seem good to a libertarian because it is a matter of liberty, whereas a conservative will have pause until he/she feels comfortable that it won't have harmful effects to society. This is why we speak out - we have to show people that this isn't bad for society. When we bring religion into the mix, bleh. I don't know how to or feel like dealing with people that want to govern based upon their religious beliefs. You could certainly be a Christian, not believe your church can/should allow gay marriage, and still think that society can live on with gay marriage allowed.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 02:08 PM) The Note does a bunch of cool stuff that other phones don't offer (multi-window, S Pen features, etc.), but Samsung's software really sucks compared to stock Android or even HTC Sense. Yep, which is part of the reason I don't know what to recommend. Oh well, he's complacent for now.

My dad has has gone from iPhone 3G -> iPhone 4 -> iPhone 5, but is really interested in switching to Android. He isn't necessarily going to do it right away, but I tell him about my phone and the phones I've looked at and he's intrigued. His best friend from far away came to visit and had a Galaxy Note 2 and he's been envious ever since. I wonder what the best phone for him would be? Maybe it's the Note - he can see pretty well, but it wouldn't hurt. I think he'd have to have an earpiece or else he would be embarrassed by the size up against his face, lol

Also, I would expect Mauer to hit better after moving to 1B full time. MLB catchers get really tired. They get tired after games and they get tired during games. I remember listening to some catchers talking about how you often end up wasting at bats later in the games because your body is so worn down. Mauer should be in really good shape playing first base only. He'll be a better late-game player and he'll play 40 more games without extra detriment to his body.

So...as I said, someone like AJP, perhaps not so-named, would be perfect

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 12:14 PM) Better than Quintana? Do you mean better relative to the cost? He's pitched over 200 innings with a high strikeout rate and a high walk rate and managed to post a 3.41 ERA over that time as he was jerked in and out of the rotation. He lost his "best" pitch, his screwball, and still pitches well. He could plausibly be perceived as an ace in the making with his ability to miss bats and make it in the MLB without all of the best circumstances. Certainly, others see a high FIP and wonder what the deal is. Those may prove correct in the long run - though I think pitchers like Hector are the most likely to defy FIP. Guys who tend to cluster their bouts of free baserunners will, by the nature of clustering, be operating differently than advanced metrics like this assume. That is to say that if his walks are not randomly, unbiasedly distributed, then FIP will be inaccurate. Too soon to tell if that is the case. I'm just saying that it is plausible that there are teams that might prefer Hector, with all things being equal. They would see him as a hot prospect with MLB experience, whereas those teams would see Quintana as a more finished product or worse.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 12:10 PM) I liked Huntsman more than any GOP candidate in the last few cycles. That said, I don't think he runs again. He was never too good at the fundraising end of things, he's looked at as too liberal by the current party (which is hilarious), and he doesn't have that powerful in-the-room presence that others do. I'm reading a book that transcribed the campaign managers' meeting after the 2012 election (this is a real thing: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/2012-campaign-d...ers-conference) They all laughed about how Huntsman speaking Chinese clearly harmed his campaign and confirmed his supposed liberalism

OS X Mavericks has magical powers

http://cfl.ca/statistics/list/year/2013 Passing leader in the CFL? Henry Burris QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:27 AM) IIRC, even with Peppers's contract on the books fully...the Bears will have well over $30 million in cap space going into the offseason. If they want to retain Cutler they have plenty of room to do so and should be able to make a number of other decent additions as well. The effective cap space is very low because we have so few players under contract. It is going to cost a huge chunk of that just to fill out the roster with minimum salaried guys

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:56 AM) Maybe. If you hold option and click on the battery does it say its fine? "Condition:Normal"

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 10:59 AM) Obama announced his campaign in January of 2007 iirc. Hillary was sunk by hiring that idiot Mark Penn and of course the Iraq war vote. I don't really see anything comparable for her at this point, and I don't really see any strong up-and-comers. I'd definitely back Warren but I don't know that she could hold up in a national campaign. She isn't a natural politician. Who knows on the republican side. Probably Christie, but he'll have a tough time in the primaries. I suppose I should have said that few thought of him as a serious candidate. It was widely seen that this was like a practice run to get his name out, build his profile, and maybe get a VP spot

I still wonder how other teams view Santiago. It very well may be the case that some see him as the better value.

I don't think Dayan is allowed to make less money than he did before in arbitration, so he will earn more than the average arb. player with a track record like his

I agree that the Obama administration has done little to push back against Bush era spying and extrajudicial bombing operations, instead just deploying them as it sees fit. I would like to see a completely reformed NSA/CIA/FBI, as each of these organizations has a past rife with terrible and illegal activity and have done little in the recent past to disprove such claims. At this point, Obama's biggest failure as president is allowing this to go on and perhaps encouraging the growth of it. I hope he does something about all of this while he's a lame duck (or sooner). As far as the "unforeseen national events" I mentioned earlier that could derail his presidency, it seems like a spying or bombing revelation could indeed be such a thing. The right believes it too, because they keep trying to find such a revelation. The most troublesome thing about our Democrat president not dismantling these (probably) unconstitutional programs is that it makes me fearful that no politician will be willing to do so.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:17 AM) Considering how insignificant he has been, I would think that $10 million in cap room saved is worth paying him not to play. I agree. There's a version of him that is worth $18M. I sincerely believe that as recently as last year he's been perhaps the best defensive player in the NFL. That guy hasn't been around this year and I don't have any info to suggest that he's coming back

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 08:15 AM) It costs the Bears something like $7 million to cut him. QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 08:47 AM) I thought the re-work prior to the season got them out of that? We owe him $8M if we cut him and $18M if he stays. Him staying will make retaining Cutler difficult and any other moves of note damn near impossible

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:04 AM) If you get in a wreck that isn't your fault, your insurance doesn't pick up the tab. Nor would the insurance pay for the maintenance on your vehicle. Car insurance is not similar in anyway to health insurance. I'm not saying you can't get mental health issues, but it's not like it suddenly happens either. It's not the same as a sudden ER visit as a result of a accident. But more importantly, the vast majority of people will never have those issues. 25% I believe is the statistic I read in the last couple of weeks. So why are we making that a requirement instead of an option? How many people get cancer? Should you not get covered for that? I don't understand the argument that unless you will definitely get something, it shouldn't be part of the risk pool. Again, it was bad for society when people were getting completely hammered for pre-existing conditions. Likewise, it was bad for society when women had to pay 50% more than men of equal health and age. They did nothing wrong except for be women and be more likely to see a doctor when they are sick. You're paying for pregnancy services so that babies can be healthy, mothers can be healthy, and so women all over the USA are not getting f***ed by the insurance system.

Health insurance is to protect against yourself, sure, but in many cases it isn't like you have much say about the illnesses or injuries you get. Much like driving a car, you can be a great, defensive driver...but sometimes you get slammed. You can maintain your car, but sometimes its parts fail. You need to disavow yourself that mental illnesses only can affect certain people. There are environmental factors and genetic factors, certainly. It remains hard to predict and the attitude that "I am of sound mind and shouldn't have to have mental health screenings on my plan" is the very reason that men in particular are highly underdiagnosed across the spectrum of mental health conditions. Also, my understanding is that the only thing in the mandatory coverage is screening for clinical depression, which I'm guessing entails a talk with your primary care physician.

I would also add Jon Huntsman, but I'm not sure if he'll even run. He's not in the good graces of the current R party, but I think he would win the general if he was nominated. I would even have to think long and hard about voting for him, depending on the D candidate. I think his best chance to run and win is if the R party favorability gets even worse, with something like a big buzzkill in 2014 where they lose seats. In that case, a moderate guy that isn't appealing to the furthest of the far right folks might become more popular.