Iwritecode

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 07:47 AM) I assume its a cascading thing, right? Like 20% vested each year? Or is it zero vesting all the way to six years then 100% (which would surprise me)? Keep in mind that even if the match is a long way off from vesting, just the tax savings alone and the chance of some vesting amount is worth it. Yes. After 2 years is 20%, 3 is 40%, etc... QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 07:47 AM) I think that's a misunderstanding, I have never heard of anyone with a 401k that they couldn't control what they were investing in. No misunderstanding. I literally have no control over how my money gets invested. I just give it to them and they invest it how they like. Then I get it back when I retire or leave the company (depending on my vesting status of course). That's why I'm hesitant about it. I hate to lose the 3% match though.

QUOTE (MuckFinnesota @ Jan 12, 2011 -> 06:24 PM) What is everyone's thoughts on the White Sox Ozzie 13 game package? From my family's experience, it was not worth it. Even though we got the games we wanted, most of the "good games" were in the upper deck. More importantly, what would you guys pay for section 158 row 12 seats against the Cubs, purchased for $76.00? My friend and his buddy are thinking that they will get $150 to $200 each for those seats...I said that if they included the parking pass they would be lucky to get $115 or $120. EDIT: This is a Monday game. I bought it one year. I ended up going to 3 or 4 games myself including 1 Cubs game and sold the rest. I was hoping to make some money off the tickets I sold but I don't think I did.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 12, 2011 -> 03:39 PM) Right, that free money makes it very hard to beat. Check into vesting, though, if you don't plan on staying at that job for a while. Some companies put the money into your account and you invest as you see fit, but it's not really yours until x amount of time. 6 years to 100% vested.

So I'm starting to get some information from my new job about our 401K plan. There is a 3% match (pre-tax only) but I basically have no control over it other than how much I put in it. I'm told that the people that handle it are "very conservative". I'm trying to decide if I should take this or do something on my own. I don't know much about this stuff myself but I have a good friend who is a financial adviser that will help me if I go on my own. I also have some money from my previous employer that I need to roll into something.

I read the first 5 in the stickied thread and didn't recognize a single artist.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 03:01 PM) My wife and I have never traded in a car. They have all either fallen apart, or been totaled in accidents. Same here. The second time I hit a deer but the car was already paid off. The insurance company actually gave me more for it than I expected.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 07:40 AM) My comment was a little off that tangent. Not discussing the relative value between two vehicles, but the value of keeping a car for a couple extra years and putting that money in retirement savings, or instead of spending $35k, spending $20k and putting that money into retirement. Some people would rather drive the nicer, newer vehicle. Others would rather be retired earlier. $15k in the bank when you are 30 adds a nice chunk of cash to your retirement. Probably enough to retire a couple years sooner. I've always bought used and from private owners if possible. I've never spent more than $8K on a car. So I guess put me into the "drive an older car for longer and retire sooner" category.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 09:37 AM) Yet he'd still be about 30 percent of the player Frank was in his heyday. Not to take anything away from either one because I like them both but Frank was never really a "homerun" guy. He was more of a AVG and OBP guy for the most part. Konerko has only had a BA over .300 3 times in his career. Frank's career BA is .301. FWIW... Paulie has averaged about 32.5 homeruns per season in a Sox uni. Frank averaged 29.8.

I'm so far behind on my games. I just got Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption (Undead Nightmare), GTA: Liberty City Stories and NBA Jam for Christmas.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 3, 2011 -> 07:05 AM) When I was on company car plans I had to buy new. We couldn't drive cars 4 years or older. The past ten years I have not had that situation and have been buying used and paying cash, which is really nice. I figured I would always be going that route until I needed a tow vehicle for a RV. That will be a full size pick up and that used market is scary and without any super values. I have a minimum of six months before I buy so I am hoping for a major market change. It kind of hurts that I really want the Dodge or Ford. FWIW, I picked up a 1993 GMC Suburban as a tow vehicle about 5 years ago and I've never had any problems with it. They really last a long time. I've gotten my money out of it and then some.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Dec 29, 2010 -> 12:04 PM) It can be instant and it's already here. Two Words Clean Diesel (TDI) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbocharged_Direct_Injection My wife and I each have a TDI car. (She's got the Audi A3 and I've got the VW Jetta) Both have averaged between 37-40mpg since we got them. That includes driving in the winter here in Chicago (horrible mpg) and highway driving (where we get 40-42mpg consistently) Does it end fossil fuel usage? Of course not. Can it significantly slow down its usage and need. Absolutely. Does that extra mileage make up for the extra 20-30 cents/gallon you have to pay for diesel fuel compared to regular unleaded?

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 28, 2010 -> 09:32 PM) Wow! Hardcore Pawn might be the worst show I have ever seen. Agreed. It's like they took the worst parts of Pawn Stars and American Chopper and put them together in one show.

TGIF! Well, at least for me this is Friday. Get Thursday and Friday off this week and next week as well. Only thing that sucks is I don't get paid for those 4 days. Gonna be a really small paycheck in a couple weeks.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 20, 2010 -> 06:33 PM) ...bonus check please come soon! Maybe you're getting a one-year membership to the jelly of the month club.

Quizno's because of those horrible singing rat-like things they had a few years ago. Whatever insurance company that "Flo" works for. She's incredibly annoying.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Dec 9, 2010 -> 03:30 PM) Reinsdorf has a long and storied habit of presiding over some pretty terrible ad campaigns. I did like the AJ/Buehrle commercial last year though. That was a nice change of pace. And the original grinder rules was innovative. IIRC, the Grinder Rules were the idea of an advertising company that they no longer work with. Someone from the company (owner?) posted on WSI for a little while.

I missed the last 3 episodes of SOA and just figured I would catch them on the website. The site only has the first 3 episodes of the season.

I want to find a cure for the common cold.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 09:42 AM) I have AT&T for my home phone (which I hardly ever use and not sure why I keep) and internet. I've had all sorts of trouble with my internet connection over the years but I'm not sure it's been their fault most of the time. We had a modem go out on us but I think it was in part to my cat chewing on the power cord. We got another modem but a few years later when we got a new computer with Windows 7 we had to get yet another modem. We were told that the one we had didn't play nice with Windows 7. Here lately we haven't been able to connect at all and the lights on the modem have been flashing like a damn Christmas tree. They sent a guy out to check out all the lines and everything and it turned out some setting on our computer somehow got changed. I'm wondering if we have something on our computer that is changing it. It wouldn't be the first time. We had a windows update screw up our connection before as well. When you call the help desk if you can get to the second level of tech support (the guys that are in this country and actually know what they are doing instead of the guy in India reading a script off a screen) they are actually pretty good. We would switch to Comcast but once their 12-month introductory offer expires, they'd be more expensive. Since I've posted this we've had an on again/off again connection the past week. We called customer service numerous times and their stock answer is "there's an outage". Funny that our phone still works though. They are finally sending someone out to look at it. Again.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 10:09 AM) I always thought it was a world-is-flat sort of belief in the scientific community that all life must be carbon-based. Just because that is what we know, that doesn't mean a damn thing about what other things could exist somewhere else. It may make those things probable, but to write off anything else entirely just seemed ignorant to me. So if we ever do find intelligent life it probably won't look like what we saw on old star-trek episodes then huh?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 09:25 AM) Yes, which is why there is still a good market for programmers in languages like that. You would think so. I kept my first job for as long as I did simply because I couldn't find another one. All the openings I saw were for newer programming languages. I got my current job through a word-of-mouth from one of my ex co-workers.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 2, 2010 -> 09:00 AM) I can't speak to Comcast...but I'd also add that AT&T thoroughly sucks as well. I have AT&T for my home phone (which I hardly ever use and not sure why I keep) and internet. I've had all sorts of trouble with my internet connection over the years but I'm not sure it's been their fault most of the time. We had a modem go out on us but I think it was in part to my cat chewing on the power cord. We got another modem but a few years later when we got a new computer with Windows 7 we had to get yet another modem. We were told that the one we had didn't play nice with Windows 7. Here lately we haven't been able to connect at all and the lights on the modem have been flashing like a damn Christmas tree. They sent a guy out to check out all the lines and everything and it turned out some setting on our computer somehow got changed. I'm wondering if we have something on our computer that is changing it. It wouldn't be the first time. We had a windows update screw up our connection before as well. When you call the help desk if you can get to the second level of tech support (the guys that are in this country and actually know what they are doing instead of the guy in India reading a script off a screen) they are actually pretty good. We would switch to Comcast but once their 12-month introductory offer expires, they'd be more expensive.

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 12:04 PM) I went last winter without a snowblower, and my back did not like that too much. Plus, I have a corner house with a drive way (although it's not too big, maybe 10-15 feet), so there is a little more to do now than I ever had to deal with when living with my parents. So, what do you guys recommend? I almost bought a Craftsman on Friday, but the reviews were iffy, so I passed. After asking around, looks like a lot of people really like Toro. Also, is it worth the extra money to get the Dual stage, or would a Single Stage suffice? I’ve got a single-stage Toro that I got for free because one of my parent’s neighbors was just going to throw it out. It works ok up to about 6 or 7 inches of snow on a smooth surface. Anything more than that it has trouble with. It doesn’t work real well on gravel either. If the snow is real heavy and wet it tends to clog up sometimes too. On the other hand, a 2-stage is going to probably cost at least double what a single-stage would. Plus it takes up more room for storage and is a little more difficult to maneuver.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 09:04 AM) So, we have a pre-lite tree that goes together in three parts.... the top third wont light up... D'OH!! We had a tree just like that. We finally ended up taking all the lights off of it. Having a pre-lit tree sounds nice at first...

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 20, 2010 -> 02:11 PM) Financial companies typically only move to fancier technology when it gives them a specific edge - they won't just employ new tech because its cool. If it works, especially for back and middle office systems where stability is key, they'll stick with it. The problem is that when all the programmers that actually know the older languages start retiring there aren't many younger programmers to take over because they don't teach the older languages much anymore. I got my current job because I'm only 33 and have been programming in Cobol for the last 12 years. I also know a little RPG and even assembler. I think I was one of the last group of people to actually take those classes in college.