lostfan

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 02:03 PM) You realize you could just consider it a rental, right? I bought my iPad2 and a year later when the retina iPad3 came out, I sold my iPad2 for 425$, turned around and bought the iPad3 for 599. Sure it cost about 175$ more, but I looked at it like I rented my iPad2 for a year for 175$. Apple stuff has pretty high resale value on it. There's an idea, I'll just keep the box and sell it on Amazon Marketplace.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 01:29 PM) Do you want to wait until xmas for delivery or do you want it by the weekend? Here you've re-phrased my dilemma. I really like the current iPad Mini, but the last time I got an iPad 2 right before the HD came out, like a month before... I could've waited that month. So, I'm trying to weigh expected improvements vs. time that I'm going to wait but Apple is not exactly jumping at the idea to share details, other than "we'll make improvements on the next one" and sort of passively acknowledging their last couple of updates on their products was kind of underwhelming.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 01:18 PM) I don't think it's going to be that long. I think it'll be out before the Holiday quarter. f***, you're not helping. lol. Angel avatar vs. devil avatar

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 01:05 PM) Announced this fall, out probably early next year. Depends how long you want to wait. The mini now is pretty awesome. If it's going to take that long, f*** waiting, I'll get it today after work. I NEED MY IPAD

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 12:55 PM) Yeah, the 12's suck. Everytime I hit it I bust and every time I stand the next card is like an 8. I can understand splitting 9's, but I wouldn't split 10's unless I was absolutely on fire and the dealer was busting like a mother. Living in vegas, I can play basically everyday if I want, but it's just not worth the stress for me...I usually play once a month or every couple months if I am out with the guys, but even then, I just try and hit them hard and get out of there. No patience to sit there for hours. Maryland Live is not far from me and they just started table games this year, and I was really rusty and I'm getting it back, so hopefully I don't go there more than once a month, lol.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 12:22 PM) Yeah, but whether someone plays basic strategy or something else, it has no bearing on what your hand will be or what the dealer's will be. As many times as you will get f***ed by someone playing stupidly, you will get saved. You just don't tend to remember or even recognize the times you were saved. But, yes, superstition, as well as the peace of mind of being able to anticipate what another player at the table will do can be nice. Yeah sometimes I go "off-book" but I try not to be too cute with it. 12 is an iffy, s***ty hand, and I hit 4 straight times on them and busted all 4 times. 16 against something high on a table where you can't surrender also sucks... you're thinking "I know I'm gonna bust but I can't win this hand if I don't hit unless I just get really lucky"

QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 12:06 PM) I know the basics of blackjack but never learned even fairly elementary strategy...so I would never sit at a blackjack table at a casino! Blackjack isn't a particularly hard game to learn, you can download an app on your phone/ipad to teach you the basics in a few hours or so. Of course everything can vary but the rules of thumb on what you should do: If you're dealt a 17 or higher, you stand automatically. Can't really do much to improve your hand but you can make it worse, since you're most likely to pull a 10. If you got a 12-16 or an ace and dealer is 7 or higher, you hit. Have to assume the dealer's next card is a 10, and then if you're sitting there with a 16 and dealer has a 18, you lose. Yes you can bust but if you don't hit you won't beat the dealer and lose anyway. If you got a 12-16 and the dealer is 2-6, stand, because then you hope the dealer gets a 10 then busts, or gets something low that's not 17, and draws a 10 on the 3rd card and busts 10 or 11 double down on anything that's not a 2 or a 10 - if your next card is 10, you'll have 20 or 21, and will almost always win Under 10, always hit 2 8s or 2 aces, always split them There is more strategy than this but if you remember this much, you know enough to play at a casino

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 11:57 AM) I hate playing blackjack with people who have no idea what they're doing. I often will just end up walking away or taking a break when that happens I had a drunk guy sitting at the anchor chair my first night doing stupid s*** like hitting a 17, but I was winning so I stayed. I'm superstitious. He did make me facepalm several times, he'd bust and be like "CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS s***?!" I'm thinking "bro, you're doing it to yourself"

At the casino this weekend while on a cruise the following happened at the blackjack table: Me, and 2 other guys were sitting at the table and for me I was on a pretty mild hot streak, I was up about 200 or so. Some random chick comes and sits in the anchor chair and plays one hand, then we get dealt a hand, dealer has a 5, I have 8s. I split the 8s (because you're supposed to) and one hand gets a 3 so I double it down, end up with 20. The other hand I get a 18. Bimbo to the far left has a pair of 10s and you'd think she'd just stand, since we want the dealer to have a 10 and bust but NOOOO she splits. We all at the same time are like "no don't split a 20 what the hell are you doing?" So she grins and does it anyway. She gets a 10 and an 8. The dealer's other card was... you guessed it... a 10, meaning he was going to bust on both of those cards. Instead, he ended up with a 21 and everyone at the table lost (where they'd have all won). Mind you I had just split AND doubled down and I had a lot of chips on the table... I was pissed. All of us at the table gave her dagger eyes and they all turned and looked at me, even the dealer. Sigh. This is cool at the poker table where your stupidity only affects you, but not so much at blackjack. Dumb b****

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 10, 2013 -> 08:39 PM) I'm sorry lostfan, following the fast break on twitter breaks your brain Yeah, that kid is not too bright

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 09:54 AM) I'd wait, it's supposed to be ready in a few months (October), for the holiday season. Listening to Apple rumors is a fruitless activity, it's to the point where every possible guess is made, so someone has to be right by default. A bunch of new Apple products are on their way this fall, believe that. Yeah that's what I'm thinking. Apple is saying they're going to refresh the iPad line, it's pretty overdue and the Android lines are starting to pass them at a lower price point.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 09:57 PM) You might get a first generation mini cheaper after the 2nd comes out? Actually check Target this week, they seemed to have some surprising deals on apple stuff for back to school? Rumor has it it's supposed to be thinner and supposed to bring the retina display to the mini. They might not have that ready in time for this fall. I've thought about getting a Nexus instead but I want to keep using Apple tablets

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 07:50 PM) I seriously doubt the next upgrade will be a major one. Is there some ability you couldn't do on the last one you'd really need? Better processing or something? I dunno. Supposed to be thinner I guess?

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 12, 2013 -> 07:02 PM) Can't you track where your iPad is when stolen? Yes but it's not connected to a network and it had a password lock on it. I put the "lost" message on it

Ok longish story short my iPad got stolen (32 GB iPad 2 wi-fi) and we'll I'd gotten really attached to it and need to replace it with an iPad mini. Should I buy one now or wait for the 4th generation version coming out probably next month?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:58 PM) No, because there's a good chance the White Sox pull him back. I'm wondering if the same thing happens as when we claimed him off Toronto. "We'll take... actually never mind just take all his money"

Can we sound the "HOLY s***" alarm yet?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:47 PM) Prince Fielder has a .785 OPS on the season. Here it is by month: April/March 1.009 May 0.738 June 0.788 July 0.656 August 0.630 That contract only doesn't look bad if you haven't paid much attention or if you only care about winning a world series right now and the last years are a write-off. I didn't want to put him on this list because his mehness just started this year and I'm not sure if it's a trend yet. Having the Tigers stuck with 23 million for the next 5 years or whatever of a mediocre player wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, though.

I was looking at another thread on another board from a couple years ago where a Phillies fan was defending the Phillies giving Howard 22 mil for 6 years, where everyone was saying the contract was an overpay and going to start looking awful a couple years into the deal. Adrian Gonzalez was brought up as a comparison and how much better a player he was than Howard, and how Howard's contract won't look that bad once Pujols and Fielder get their deals. Funny, now... ALL of those mega-contracts look bad now except Fielder. There are some truly terrible contracts, in otherworldly-bad territory right now, over 20 million for players who've been just average or are truly bad. For all the arguing done about Gonzalez in that thread he's been a pretty much above-average player nowhere near worth his deal. A-Rod... nuff said, this one was easy to call at the time too Pujols - nobody really understands this one Hamilton - could have been called at the time Teixeira - pretty much paying for the '09 World Series, really meh since then, coulda been called at the time too Sabathia - can be excused from this list since he's been great for most of his deal but is really expensive from here in the rest of it Crawford - not even remotely close to worth the money Compared to these guys Cabrera's deal looks downright cheap. It's like MLB GMs got NBA GM syndrome from like 2009 to 2013.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 11:16 AM) Teams have sent draft picks to teams for picking up cash in the NBA to get them under the salary cap and/or luxury tax. The Bulls sent a draft pick to Atlanta with Hinrich several years ago? The luxury tax in baseball affects very few teams. Its not like the NBA where almost every team is at the salary cap and several are paying luxury tax. But it hasn't happened in MLB, and with the new TV money seems very unlikely to start any time soon. To Washington who traded him to ATL mid-season. Yeah that's a good example. That was a dice-roll and I just wish hindsight could be applied there.

In the NBA more often a team will exchange bad contracts (like the Bulls sending Ben Wallace to the Cavs and taking Larry Hughes or the Raptors trying to trade Bargnani to the Bulls for Boozer. But I can't think of an example like what Bernstein is talking about here. Bulls will trade, say, Jimmy Butler but you've got to take Deng?

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:23 AM) I can't imagine the shame that would arise from being swept by the white sox. Probably like not being able to beat the Cubs in 2 series

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:11 AM) I had to switch my doc connectors a while ago now, and the new ones (although still proprietary) are much better than the old ones, less prone to breaking the phone, and easier to use, too. It's a relatively minor inconvenience. I wish there was a law where all power connectors on devices has to follow the same standard, much like wall sockets. Even with USB, I must have 30 f***ing USB chargers, micro, mini, super mini, super duper micro mini...f***ing assholes. They did do this by 2012, all phones have micro USB except Apple products, who resisted it so they can keep that revenue stream going. No matter though, since now instead of charging 8 bucks for chargers (for something that costs pennies to make in China, mind you) they charge 30 bucks for a charger and a car charger, since you don't need a charger every time you buy a phone anymore. Fothermuckers.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 7, 2013 -> 01:14 PM) Eh, i think it's more just coincidence. I don't think they'll do s*** for HGH b/c I don't think the league will catch anyone. HGH testing will only catch someone who did it that same day

My friend speculated on my Facebook status last night that all these ridiculous injuries are a result of players weaning themselves off HGH in anticipation of blood testing next year. Although... ligaments get fragile when the muscle mass grows faster than the ligament...