Middle Buffalo

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 10:59 AM) They did? Maybe a comic genius but you really think there are/were people who would consider him an actual genius? *shrugs* In the film community, it's actually true. The genius label has to do with him as a producer. There's a really good documentary about Jerry Lewis that talks about how innovative he was. It's worth a watch, but I was kind of making a joke because I can picture Jerry Lewis doing what trump is doing in your avatar.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 10:36 AM) Well, Jerry Lewis was considered by some to be a genius, and you could find footage of him doing similar stuff. Anyone else wake up every day and check the news just to see what crazy stuff Trump might have done while you were sleeping? It's like when I check my youngest son's grades - a mixture of apprehension and hope for the best. Fortunately, I feel like I can eventually have some influence on my son. The president, not so much.

I don't gamble on sports outside of confidence pools & fantasy football. And both things have made me like football much less. I can't even imagine betting on some of these events you pick. This thread is fascinating. Good luck. I think I'd go crazy with the ups and downs you have.

QUOTE (Brian @ Dec 27, 2017 -> 10:02 AM) Pretty much anyone who believes there was a "War on Christmas" and could never say "Merry Christmas" are totally discounted for whatever they say on the subject. Let me guess...while I was on the front lines fighting the War on Christmas, you took a college deferment or weren't eligible due to flat feet or something. I fought for your right to say Happy Holidays, but I don't have to like it.

I'm confused. Trump just made it so we can all say Merry Christmas again, and now Greg is refusing to say it lest he offend someone?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 25, 2017 -> 07:45 AM) BTW, the guy that "brought back Christmas "? Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday season! 10:26 AM · Dec 23, 2010 2010 - back when none of us was allowed to say Merry Christmas without risking jail time.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 17, 2017 -> 07:05 AM) Remember that they also traded 2 years of Kemp for one year of 3 bad contracts. The money was close overall. Also cleared a spot in the OF for Acuña. The trade makes sense in a perfect world, but because of the financial imbalances in MLB, trades should not be equal. If I'm a GM trading with any of the big money teams (LAD, NYY, CHC! Etc), I'm insisting on winning the trade. They will outspend everyone for FAs, so the bottom 24 teams have to get their prospects back in any trade.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Dec 16, 2017 -> 09:03 PM) Dodgers willing to trade prospect(s) to unload 2 years of Kemp. Depending on who they would offer, I'd want the Sox to look into this. This should be explored by the Sox. I don't understand why the Braves wouldn't have insisted on getting a prospect back. It doesn't make sense for one team to bail out another financially without getting prospects back. The Stanton trade was the same. Why would the Marlins not insist on one of the Yankees' top 5 prospects in addition to taking Castro's contract?

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, so I'm not super invested in these movies. I didn't even see Rogue One. I thought this one was good overall. The good parts were the Kylo scenes (pretty much all of them) & the Kylo/Luke showdown was well done. I liked the mind melding stuff and Snoke was cool. RIP. I would have liked more training - not the same reluctant teacher/student relationship from Empire. And, I'm done with Yoda. Don't come back unless you can bring Alec Guinness with you. The whole Ren/Rose storyline was lame. Leia was terrible (her acting and the content). There were a few "yippee" type scenes in this, and those are always bad. Overall, I think I'd group it with 4,5, & 7 in tier 1. The next tier is 6 & 3. 2 & 1 were horrible.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 12, 2017 -> 10:03 AM) Must watch TV - His 19 return TDs with the Bears Man, he was awesome. Several things I was reminded of: 1) I love the all white away uniforms. I wish they'd wear those more often. 2) Hester probably had another 10-15 returns that were TDs if he beat one more guy or didn't step out of bounds. 3) The special teams blocking was so good. 4) One of my pet peeves is the guy or guys who run along side a returner and don't look to block anyone. So many times a guy would score if players looked for someone to block. As the great Lou Tepper said, the punt return is the most exciting play in football.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 09:37 AM) Depending on your state of residence, there are tax advantages to you now for putting them into a 529 plan as well as tax advantages for your children in the future. In Indiana, you receive a 20% tax credit on 529 contributions up to $5k in contributions. For example, if you were to contribute $5k, you would receive an additional $1k back during income tax season. In Illinois, I believe you can use contributions as tax deductions. For example, if you make $100k and contribute $5k, you would only be "claiming" to make $95k. The tax advantages for your kids is that when they pull the money out for higher education, it will be tax-free. Furthermore, the government has been changing the law as of late in that the money can be used for a lot more, whereas in the past, it had to be used for school. I believe now it can even go toward an apartment/rent for school and a few other things. Hopefully this was somewhat helpful. That was my understanding. I guess I just have to keep good documentation. Thanks!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 6, 2017 -> 03:45 PM) Nobody's really done anything about bump stocks, but the House did pass concealed-carry reciprocity, meaning that if you're licensed to carry in one state, you can carry in any state. It's been one of the NRA's main goals for awhile. This is good news. Now I can go pretty much anywhere in the US and have both the police and local do-gooders protecting me wherever I go. America just keeps getting safer.

Moore wins easily and is seated at the kids' table.

I have a bunch of $200 bonds that I bought for $100 years ago. I used to have an automatic paycheck deduction that I used to purchase them, so I have a ton of them. I've looked them up, and quite a few are now worth $200 or more, even though they haven't reached their maturity date. I've done some research, and from what I can tell, they can be cashed and used for education expenses to save on the tax hit. Anybody know the best way to go about using them? Do I cash them and put them into a 529 plan? Should I cash them and immediately use them to pay for my son's college tuition? If so, do I put them into one of my accounts and write a check, or should I have a cashiers check made to the college? A little advice is appreciated.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 2, 2017 -> 01:39 AM) His defense is going to be his partial blindness/medical conditions. Just watch. I'm not sure if he also has a blindness problem, but I do recall that he was losing his hearing due to his addiction to painkillers. That was back when one his big show topics was drug addicts.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 1, 2017 -> 10:29 PM) Is that Rush? Uh oh. He shouldn't be doing that. I don't worship Rush, folks. Unlike some of you I listen to as many different viewpoints as I can in the short attention span I have regarding talk radio. I am a dial switcher; don't like commercials. Love Beatles channel. Love some other music channels and the 2 comedy channels. So, you listen to Rush and come here and post what you heard him say. "Don't shoot the messenger." But, you never post anything from other sources. I guess you wouldn't get much from the Beatles or other music channels. I suppose there might be an occasional deep political thought on one of the two comedy channels, but I haven't seen you come here and act as Jon Stewart or Lewis Black's "messenger." And, yes, that is Rush.

I think I've had enough of the "clever" TD and sack celebrations.

Seen in the last 10 days in theaters... LBJ - Interesting story about a figure I never really knew much about. I wouldn't give it a real strong recommendation. It was just ok. Lady Bird - Entertaining, but it has no real resolution. It just ends. Some good performances, for sure. Three Billboards... - Lots of good performances. I'd recommend it. I saw Snowden on demand. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. It's definitely worth checking out.

Illinois has to be tanking so they can get higher draft choices, right?

Last year, my wife's cousin came over and stuffed up one of my toilets. It overflowed, made a mess, and somehow I was left cleaning it up. Pretty gross. This year the cousin is not invited. For that, I am thankful.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Nov 20, 2017 -> 07:14 AM) Best headline I saw for this one: "Extremely anti-LGBT politician caught having extremely pro-LGBT sex" That gave me a good laugh.

For every great one-hand catch I see, I swear there are 3 or 4 drops that might have been caught if the guy went after it with both hands. OBJ started a revolution, and I am not on board.

QUOTE (aryzner @ Nov 13, 2017 -> 02:52 PM) 4-time World Cup Champions Italy have just missed out on the World Cup. Sweden going, Italy out. If USMNT players think American criticism is bad, that's nothing compared to what these Italian players will get from their media. It's the World Cup. Wouldn't it make more sense to let every team in? Why make teams qualify and risk some of the big countries missing out?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 13, 2017 -> 02:16 PM) This might be a little odd, but is it better to show GPA vs. class rank? I ask because I can't contribute. My school didn't have a class rank. I'd say I was probably top 10-20% with a school with about 1200 students. I am an Assistant Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis An estimate is good enough for me. He just needs data. It's an 8th grade science fair project. It's inherently flawed. I made up all of the data for mine in 8th grade.

This is great. Thanks for the feedback, and I promise not to lord my higher ranking over any of you.