Iwritecode

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ May 30, 2012 -> 02:37 AM) They said they wouldn't let the goat onto the field... isn't that what got them "cursed" in the 1st place?? It's a dumb legend because that happened in 1945. That doesn't account for the 37 years prior to that. They haven't won since before they moved into Wrigley.

The other side of the coin is that the better they are at their job, the more money they are likely to make. With most other jobs you can bust your ass all day everyday and your paycheck is going to be the same no matter what. Especially with minimum-wage type jobs.

So then the commonly held theory that servers rely on tips to make money doesn't really seem to hold true. They are guaranteed the exact same minimum wage as every other joe-blow standing behind a cash register in a retail store. They simply rely on tips to make more than minimum wage. If restaurants got rid of tips they would probably make less money.

I know that servers have a lower minimum wage than other jobs. But I remember reading somewhere that if for whatever reason they don't make enough in tips to bring them up to the "regular" minimum wage, their employer is required to make up the difference. Is this true?

We didn't have a problem counting our other daughter who was almost 2 at the time because she was actually sitting at the table and we were actually ordering food for her. But the baby never even left her carrier and needed no attention from the waitress at all. No crackers, no crayons, no drinks.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 29, 2012 -> 08:12 AM) I love it when people say things nobody wants to hear... To graduate from college and immediately get an amazing job only works in two ways: 1) you got EXTREMELY lucky, or 2) (and far more likely) you knew someone in a position of power that abused that power to get you a job you didn't yet deserve. The funny part is, in the case of both 1 & 2, those that this happened for will never admit they got lucky or knew the right people...because it's far more likely they actually believe they were that awesome and deserved it. This is my career track: 1996: Worked at Osco Drug (31st Halsted/Bridgeport) 3 to 4 days a week (weekday evening shifts 5-11pm or 6-11pm) $5.35 per hour. Worked at Dunkin' Donuts (31st Halsted/Bridgeport) Saturday and Sunday, early morning shift $5 per hour cash. Attended College, taking upwards of 20-24 credit hours per trimester Yes, all at the same time. 1997: Graduated. Got a job at AIS (American Information Systems, Inc.), an internet service provider working afternoon/evenings as technical support for Internet connectivity. This was in the days of Windows 3.11, OS/2, and Windows 95...and modems. $8.50 per hour. Note that out of college, I was making 8 dollars and 50 cents per hour. 1998: Got promoted from Tech Support to Jr. System Administrator. $31,200 per year. ~15$ per hour. Late 1998: AIS was purchased by Exodus Communications where I was promoted to Sr. System Administrator. Still making the same $31,200. 2000: Finally moved me to $55,000 per year. ---- In 2003 I was laid off. Between 2003 and 2006: Verisign Anexis Ambiron (later becoming AmbironTrustWave), later becoming TrustWave ---- 2006-2012: Sr. Network Specialist, Blue Cross/Blue Shield ---- I didn't step into this job right out of college...and looking back, I realize why. The day I graduated, I knew almost nothing REAL or useful about computers/the internet. I was book smart about them, though. College showed them I could stick with something and make it happen. Experience showed them I knew what the f*** I was actually doing. That looks eerily similar to my career path. I also worked at Osco while going to school. My difference is that I got my first job making ~ $15/hour before I graduated when I was only 20. I'll admit that I got extremely lucky. Mostly a right place/right time thing. Two of the people I was going to school with were already working there so I'm sure that helped but I didn't even know they were there until after I was hired.

QUOTE (Reddy @ May 25, 2012 -> 04:48 PM) but why take it out on the SERVER when it's the restaurant owners you had a problem with in regard to check policy and being out of everything... (obvs sans the waitresses complaint) I'm pretty sure the inclusion of our 3-month old in the count to bump it up to auto gratuity was on the waitress as well. I understand there are a lot of things that the wait staff can't control, but really that was the topper for the night on top of everything else. Honestly, we probably would've left something had she not tried a BS move like that.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 25, 2012 -> 02:25 PM) Letting Mark go IMO was the dumbest business decision of all time. Actually I think a worse business decision was moving the Sox to pay TV (Sportsvision) in the 80's while the Cubs stayed with WGN. Letting Harry go to the Cubs ranks right up their too.

We went to a restaurant that tried to add the auto gratuity to our bill because they included my 3 month old daughter in their count. After we had the worst restaurant experience in our lives (they were out of nearly everything we ordered and the waitress was overheard complaining about us to other customers) we told them to take it off. They did and we haven't been back since. That was over 10 years ago.

I think that's mostly due to people who have been on the season-ticket waiting list finally getting their chance to buy tickets. They are buying them now and trying to get rid of them so they will be around if/when Theo makes good on his promise in 3-5 years. The Sox don't have that many available simply because our season ticket base is smaller.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Apr 30, 2012 -> 02:46 PM) Anyone interested in a 12-foot pop-up or a 23-foot expandable? Both are going up for sale real soon. Our pop-up is officially up for sale if anyone is interested. PM me for details.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 22, 2012 -> 10:29 AM) I've killed a car battery before by neglecting to put it on a trickle charger. When I was considering what line of cordless tools to go with a couple of years ago, one of the main influencing factors was picking a well-known, professional-grade brand that would be likely to support a given battery technology/style for several years (ended up going Makita). It seems like a lot of the less expensive, consumer-level cordless products are always switching battery styles around. That's interesting considering Makita just changed their style within the past few years. They used to look like this:

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 28, 2012 -> 12:35 AM) Nor would you break windows using a tennis ball. I accidentally broke 3 or 4 windows with tennis balls when I was a kid.

QUOTE (mumbles3k @ May 13, 2012 -> 11:16 AM) So, inspired by this thread, I re-watched MAJOR LEAGUE. I still think it's quite bad. The biggest problem with it is that it's not funny. The jokes are so easy and over the top that they border on cartoonish, and can be seen coming from a mile away. Likewise, all of the characters are extremely broad caricatures which are obviously designed for maximum humorous effect. As a result, they lose any sort relatability. Surely this is why they included Tom Berenger's character. He was the audience's proxy into this otherwise insane world. The problem is that everyone else's problems and goals are so outlandish that Berenger's arc ends up being basically non-existent. He didn't grow as a player, he wasn't the one to hold the team together, he basically didn't do anything. Presumably, this is why they chose to add the romantic subplot, which was half-baked at best. He sees his engaged ex, and wants to get back together with her. She says no, because he cheated on her, and she's with a better guy now. We don't see her fiancé being any more of a dick than Berenger. He's more successful, he never does her wrong. But then at the end of the movie, presumably because he's on a winning team, she goes back to Berenger. What the hell is that? So yes, I still hate MAJOR LEAGUE. Not because it's bad (which it most certainly is), but because it's stupid (there's a difference). That being said, I did notice that the Indians beat the Sox to force Game 163, so I've added it to the list. Because of the Sox element, I'm also looking forward to watching MAJOR LEAGUE II, hopefully soon. FWIW, it's mentioned in the sequel that the Indians lost to the White Sox in the playoffs after the first movie.

My English teacher wrote this on the board one day and told somebody to try and read it. I have no idea what the actual lesson we were supposed learn was but I've always remembered it for some reason. mr ducks mr not ducks osmr cdedbd wings? lib mr ducks Translation:

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 8, 2012 -> 12:57 PM) If there was no God, what is the point of all this? Even being here? Are we just going to die and bam, that's that, thanks for playing 60-100 years? It's possible. We will all find out eventually.

So my parents decided to become permanent campers like us. Since they are going permanent, they decided to upgrade from their 23-foot expandable to a 29-foot travel trailer. We went with them to look and found one that we fell in love with. So now we are upgrading from a 12-foot pop-up to a 32-foot travel trailer. It’s got an entire room with 4 bunks in the back and a TV hookup, so our kids can have their own little space. I just got the call that we’ve been pre-approved for the loan. Got to go up and finish the paperwork this weekend. Hopefully we’ll be all be camping in our new trailers within the next 2 weeks. Anyone interested in a 12-foot pop-up or a 23-foot expandable? Both are going up for sale real soon.

Now to me I don't see it as any different than the people who pick stuff up from the curb that has been put out as garbage. I've purposely put stuff out with the garbage with the hopes that somebody will come along and pick it up before the garbage men get there. Those big plastic slides, see-saws and play houses for kids are one good example. I had a few in my backyard that my kids out-grew and I didn't personally know anyone that wanted them. So I put them out on the curb and sure enough, somebody came along and picked them up. Now if I would've taken them up to the Goodwill and left them and somebody came along and took them, I wouldn't have minded at all. I've typically used Goodwill/Salvation Army as a last resort when I can't get rid of my stuff any other way either by giving it to somebody I know or even through a garage sale. Even though I was an only child, I grew up on hand-me-down stuff from friends and family. Clothes, bikes, sports equipment, tools, etc...

I debated about making this a seperate thread but I'll stick it here for now. There is a Goodwill store near our house that I drive past all the time. On the side is the door where people drop off their donations. Many times people will come after the store is closed and just drop stuff at the door. I've even done this myself a couple of times. Mostly with bags of clothes. I don't care about getting a receipt for tax purposes. I don't want to throw the stuff away because it's still usable. I just want to get it out of my house and hope that somebody else can use it eventually. I've actually seen some pretty nice things left by the door including a wooden rocker/glider chair and a big screen TV. Now the question I have is if somebody comes along and takes something that's lying by the door, should it be considered stealing?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 27, 2012 -> 08:57 AM) Those guys are always cruising around, which is why whenever I have something like that, I just drag it to the curb and know it'll be gone before morning. Same here. Most of the time it's gone before midnight. They kinda pissed me off though when I threw a couch out that had recliners on each end of it. It was already falling apart but they ripped the metal out of if and left the rest of the couch in pieces. So I spent an hour or so with a box cutter and a hammer tearing the rest of it apart. I'm using the wood for firewood and I took the stuffing out and used it to stuff the giant pillow we have for our dog. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2012 -> 08:49 AM) I do this for the money. Usually we put it towards whatever trip we do during the summer. I add that to whatever money I make from pay for click type sites and usually end up in the area of $500 annually. That way I don't have to worry about budgeting for a small trip. We recycle aluminum cans as well but we just give the money to our kids. We usually only get around $10 or so each time we go. That's for 4 or 5 garbage bags full. It's almost not worth it. We recycled a cast iron bathtub one time and got like $40 for it. Just last night we "recycled" a dog house that our neighbors were throwing out. It's a good solid dog house with a floor and real shingles on the roof of it. It even has insulation in it. I can't figure out why they were getting rid of it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 10:42 AM) No, that's the tragic result. Everything leading up to it was 100% reasonable and expected given the circumstances. Yea, it's just too bad he didn't stop after his obligations were fulfilled which was simply calling the police and letting them handle it. Much like many of his neighbors had already done and had actually led to at least one arrest.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 26, 2012 -> 10:26 AM) I just finished that article. It's a tragedy that an innocent kid got shot, but I can't fault Zimmerman at all for carrying a gun and being proactive about the problems he and his neighbors were having. I'd be fed up. You've watched your neighborhood go to s***. You've watched criminals REPEATEDLY commit crimes with nothing done about it. You know that even if a kid gets picked up he's sent to juvi or given probation or something and is back on the streets days or weeks later. The cops have clearly failed (though really without having a 24/7 presence there's not much they can do). So Zimmerman did what he felt he was obligated to do. He felt he was obligated to follow and kill an innocent teenager because some break-ins had happened in his neighborhood recently? That seems like a bit of a stretch.

Humber wasn't the only pitcher to throw a perfect game on Saturday.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 19, 2012 -> 03:21 PM) Well, as I see it, helping your fellow man/woman/child when it comes to jury duty isn't supposed about financial or personal gain. Our court system, which people repeatedly call the best in the world, is set up in a way in which your civic duty results in a call to help your fellow man/woman/child get a fair trail in front of a jury of their peers, who will convict the guilty and set the innocent free, or in the case of civil suits, award proper damages, if any. Being how important of an event that trial can be in a persons life, I think we should all view it in the way in which, while quite inconvenient, you're actually doing someone a great service, even if it's quite anonymous. This again comes full circle...people love to talk about how giving they are, but they only apply that "giving-ness" to things such as charitable donations, or walking for breast cancer awareness, because that's an accepted societal norm, and wearing a pink Susan G Koman shirt makes you awesome in the eyes of society, while being a juror sucks. Society doesn't care if you served on a jury and potentially prevented an innocent person from a life of hell in prison, or perhaps prevented a guilty rapist from walking the streets and ruining another set of lives...the collective hive mind decided to arbitrarily care that you walked around in a pink shirt, instead. Last I checked, people don't get paid to walk around for breast cancer awareness, either...they actually pay to do it...and it's also an all day, or multi-day event. But...that's not like jury duty...jury duty just sucks. :/ And yes, I realize one is completely voluntary...but that only works because society decided it's awesome...and unless they found a way to make jury duty as awesome as walking around for some disease, the only way to get people to serve/help/do their duty is at gun point...practically...or apparently, to bribe them. TL;DR: I try to view jury duty as *giving* someone a shot at a fair trail, be it civil or criminal...instead of an inconvenience. Something you shouldn't need to be bribed into doing for them. Not to mention it's a maximum of once a year, IF that...it's not like they're asking you to do this once a month. First of all, it's not about financial or personal gain at all. It's about keeping the status quo. I simply can't go a few days, or a week, or a few weeks with no pay, because I'd be right back in the courts again but it would be bankruptcy court. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in that same situation. Secondly, comparing jury duty to breast cancer walks is a horrible comparison for the exact reason you stated. It's voluntary. FWIW, I don't do those either because I can't afford to take off from work.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 19, 2012 -> 10:33 AM) Mandate that employers pay a full days wage for jury duty. ^^^This. If I got paid my regular wage for being there, I'd have no problem with it at all. Until then, the livelihood of myself and my family come first.