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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 26, 2013 -> 12:21 PM) I hate cars. I started to change my oil on Monday night and ended up breaking the oil drain plug. Half of the bolt was stuck in the pan. Had to take the day off work yesterday to take it to the dealer. $100 bucks later, it's fixed and my oil got changed. I guess I should be thankful the dealer didn't screw me by saying I needed a whole new oil pan, but it still sucks. There went all the savings for changing the oil myself the last few times. I'm with you on that first sentence. My car needs an oil change, brakes and tires. I could do the first two things myself but I just don't have the time between working, camping and my kids baseball games. On the other hand I really don't want to take it somewhere and spend 3 times the amount. I have another car that I'm planning on giving to my daughter whenever she gets her license that just won't stay running. I have no idea what's wrong with it and I would have to call a tow truck to even get it someplace to have it looked at. I'm debating on whether it's worth dumping more money into it or just selling it for whatever I can get and worry about getting her another car after she actually gets her license and maybe a job to help pay for it. This all on top of getting my renewal for my insurance and seeing my premium has increased. The insurance company says it's because repair/medical costs have increased.

Countdown to hostess cakes returning. Should be July 15.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 23, 2013 -> 08:18 AM) Sepinwall liked the pilot for "Under the Dome". I'll DVR and give it a shot. It premiers tonight and I'm really looking forward to it. I loved the book minus the last 10 pages or so. It's like King wrote himself into a corner with that ending. Apparently they made quite a few changes for the show so it's not a direct adaption. Should be interesting to see how they can keep it going assuming that the first season is successful.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 21, 2013 -> 12:54 PM) You never had to be connected 100% of the time. Well technically you just had to connect to "check in" every 24 hours. But if you left for vacation for any extended period of time then you had to just leave it connected the whole time and hope you power never went out.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 10:48 AM) See, I agree. Why not have the physical media version of a game, regular price. Also, a digital download version of the game, a bit cheaper, but requires the connectivity of the console, etc. Why can't that system be implemented? Clearly, they have the capabilities. I'd love to not have to keep up with physical media anymore. This. Instead of going all the way with one or the other, do both. They already do this with a lot of blu-ray moves. Disney especially.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) Seriously? Having 2 drives is becoming the norm. You run applications from the SSD and use the SATA for storage. Any disc based storage system is quickly becoming dated. The point still remains that you don't have to remove the optical drive in order to fit a 2nd drive. QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) Of those people that don't have the Internet...how many can't tether to connect once a day? Of those people, how many can even afford a $500 console. It's a demographic that doesn't exist. Mercedes doesn't make a s***ty version of their cars for people that can't afford them either. If they don't have internet access... tether to what?

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 10:54 AM) Its funny, because I'm sure there was a time, not too long ago, when people were saying, "Why would I ever buy a PC without a 3.5" drive in it?" or "I'll just keep this cassette deck in my car, it is way cheaper to buy music that way." Do the old methods still work? Sure, absolutely. Are they the most efficient way? Nope, not anymore. And neither is depending on physical media to be actually present, to play a game. But, that can be chalked up to opinions, and why we're discussing it on a message board, and not in a Sony/Microsoft boardroom. That comparison doesn't work because they were still physical copies being replaced by better physical copies. Plus, the option to still buy actual DVDs or CDs exists. MS was trying to take that option away completely.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 10:50 AM) In August of last year it was 119 million Americans without broadband internet. That's a lot of potential customers. Sony and MS would be really dumb to close off those people from potentially buying a system and the games that go with it. I didn't even think about that. How many people are still forced to use dial-up?

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 10:42 AM) How many of those consoles are still in use? There's no way of knowing. That's taking into account every machine that's collecting dust, or broken. The last I read about 20% of people don't have home internet access. I just don't know how much that includes people that own gaming systems. That also doesn't include the people that bring their systems with them to places that don't have access. That could include college dorms, campgrounds, etc... I guess my only point is that the number of people that don't have/want internet access are way higher than what they thought.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 10:01 AM) I definitely call BS on that. There's absolutely no way that that's true. Even if it were, how many of those people don't have the capability to connect to the internet? 5%, at the very most. 75 million Xbox 360s 46 million XBL users

About 40% of the Xboxes in the world are not connected to an XBL account. That's a pretty big chunk of their customer base to alienate.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 20, 2013 -> 08:53 AM) The ps3 update did not brick anything to be fair. It was mostly people with an after-market HDD that had problems. http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/201...artner=yahootix

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 19, 2013 -> 12:08 AM) #5 felt like I've seen this called wrong, or maybe the runners tagged up anyway and were always safe, so it never mattered. QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 19, 2013 -> 09:28 AM) I knew #5, but I swear I've seen situations where it should have been called but wasn't. I immediately though of Uribe's catch in the 05 WS. There was a runner on second and he wasn't allowed to advance.

This is interesting.

My drive home was pretty uneventful. I drove through a few pockets of hard rain but nothing bad enough where my wipers couldn't keep up. The wind affected me a little bit when I started heading due north but I never saw any hail. I didn't even see all that much lightening.

I'm going to be driving right into this.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 04:35 PM) You are definitely in the minority. Mine's always connected, really. I just don't think about it. I just can't imagine alienating a portion of your customer base like that, no matter how small it is. That's like a store saying "Sorry, you haven't shopped here in X amount of time so you can't shop here anymore." Sorry, you didn't make any phone calls yesterday so we are shutting off your phone. Just a horrible idea all around.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 04:19 PM) Someone did you a favor. It's still selling for about $20 on Ebay. I've never been able to find it at a used game store.

Have they explained the reasoning behind having to constantly be connected online? I might be in the minority but I've never had any of my gaming systems connected to the internet.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 03:03 PM) Serious question. Has this EVER happened? When you have kids, yes. Multiple times. I still don't know what the hell happened to my copy of Sub-Zero Mythologies.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ May 24, 2013 -> 10:39 AM) Apologies if this has already been covered in this thread, but has anyone read the Dark Towers series from Stephen King? Seems like a very large committment and I'd like some thoughts before I dive in. The first book is a bit slow and can be a little disconcerting at first but it’s a pretty short read. There are a few things that you might not pick up on unless you go back and read it again after you've read all the books. It really gears up in the 2nd book when more major characters are introduced and it’s hard to turn back after that point. If at all possible, try not to read any spoilers regarding the ending to the 7th and final book. Many of his other books/stories reference back to this series. A few characters from his other novels pop up in the last book as well. It is a big commitment but well worth it IMHO. Some of the ones that have more obvious connections are IT, Hearts In Atlantis, Insomnia, Everything’s Eventual, The Talisman and it’s sequel Black House.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 4, 2013 -> 07:08 PM) The Costner one...more recently, not Bull Durham/Field of Dreams...where he played for Detroit. Can't remember the name, but that one was worse than The Trouble With the Curve IMO. For Love of the Game. Also, wrong thread.

Maybe convince ESPN that there are 28 other teams in the league...

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 31, 2013 -> 03:03 PM) It matters a lot to me and a lot of people who loose teeth over Sox vs. Cubs and have for years. Based on the attendance numbers, you're becoming the minority. Most people seem to be looking at these games as just other game against a non-divisional rival. City-bragging rights are worth about as much as the attendance trophy.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 31, 2013 -> 02:38 PM) That is a bunch of crap. Before interleague play, the Sox-Cubs played some exhibition game for charity during the season and it was packed and the whole city was going crazy for bragging rights. The Sox and Cubs even used their starters for five innings or so. Some families to this day have big-time arguments during holiday parties as my family did on the South Side when I was a kid. My dad, uncle and grandfathers who had different allegiances would scream at each other discussing the two teams and their ballparks. I think the Sox should be ashamed they loafed during the 3-game Cub series and lost all three. The lazy Sox millionaires should be embarrassed. Nice job, players and coaches alike to get their asses kicked by the Cubs 3 days. They are still much less meaningful compared to games against the Tigers, Royals, Indians or Twins. I wouldn't care if they didn't win a single game against the Cubs for the next 5 years if it meant they had a winning record against the AL central in that same time-frame