Desipio Message Board

I don't get those Kurt Evans' photoshops at all.

Quote from: RV on March 21, 2009, 01:13:43 PM

Quote from: Tank on February 28, 2009, 03:27:04 PM

Quote from: LoneStarCubFan on February 28, 2009, 02:47:41 PM

Quote from: BH on February 28, 2009, 11:55:39 AM
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs have agreed to terms with Corey Koskie on a minor league contract.
Koskie hasn't played in the majors since 2006, when he hit .261/.343/.490 in 257 at-bats for the Brewers. He has been cleared to play once again after battling post-concussion syndrome for a few years. He'll compete for a backup job on the Cubs.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times

If he's got anything left in the tank he'd be a great back-up for Ramirez.

Korey Kosuke?

I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this...

He's not comfortable with it either.

QuoteCorey Koskie met with the beat writers for about a half-hour this morning. The long and short of it is that he's calling off his baseball comeback.

I do not look forward to Aaron Miles manning the hot corner when Aramis isn't playing.

He is, however, apparently a vampire or something, as he plans on another seventy or so years of life

QuoteYeah, baseball is great, but you have the next two-thirds of your life to look at here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-21-cubs-bits-chicago-mar21,0,7520823.story

Quote from: Kermit, B. on March 20, 2009, 10:27:14 AM

Quote from: BH on March 20, 2009, 10:25:06 AM

Quote from: Pre on March 20, 2009, 10:22:30 AM

Quote from: Tonker on March 20, 2009, 07:28:00 AM

Quote from: MAD on March 19, 2009, 11:39:47 AM
Screw the wedding talk.  Let's talk about Pre's bachelor party instead.

Two words :

Eastern.  Europe.

Krakow is fun, I've been there a few times.

Prague is ideal for this sort of activity.

I have heard that it's nearly impossible to beat Prague when it comes to cash-to-beer value.

Bratislava beats Prague in this department.

Let's take a ride on the Phil Rogers time machine all the way back to the halcyon days of 1996...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-26-rogers-al-westfeb26,0,993502.story?track=rss

QuoteNow, like wide receiver Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire," Lackey is telling the Angels, "Show me the money!"

Jerry Mcguire?  Seriously?  Welcome to 1996, Phil.  Hopefully he steps up his game and we can get some Sling Blade quotes, or maybe Fargo if we're really lucky.

On a side note, searching for "Phil Rogers" brings up some hilarious results.  The Phil Rogers Curse; Phil Rogers, you ignorant slut; Phil Rogers: Moran.  So many choices to choose from...

I realise this is a day late and all, but I just wanted to add that I wouldn't hang my hat on the advent of farming as the all important factor concerning hypertrophy of the human brain and divergence from the rest of the primates.  Damsel fishes of the Stegastes genus farm marine algae and we don't consider them some super-brained mega-animal.

I have two suggestions.  1) Do you travel for work?  My wife said that at her old job, when people wanted a new laptop, they would drop it while handing it to the xray folks at the airport and then blame the xray dude to the company.

2) Block up the vents on the computer and set it to work on a cpu intensive task.  Maybe SuperPi to a ridiculous number of digits.  The cpu should be toast.  If you're not against cracking it open, pull off the cpu and scrape away the thermal paste, and stick the cpu back on.  That will really speed things up.

Also, I agree with ADC.  Replacing a motherboard on a laptop is normally something that is just not done.

Quote from: Gil Gunderson on January 09, 2009, 12:34:42 AM

Quote from: Tank on January 08, 2009, 08:28:52 PM
Is that number significant in your opinion?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avTXAfm9.vhM

QuoteJan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of England cut the benchmark interest rate to the lowest since the central bank was founded in 1694 as policy makers tried to prevent the credit squeeze from deepening Britain's recession.

The bank rate was reduced a half-point to 1.5 percent, bringing policy makers closer to the point at which they will run out of options to fight the financial crisis with conventional tools. The pound rose against the euro and the dollar because some investors had bet on a larger reduction.

"They'll come down below 1 percent by the second quarter," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec Securities in London. "Things have deteriorated further and this highlights the need for further monetary stimulus. Non- conventional monetary policy techniques are on the cards."

I too mourned the death of Mary II.

I thought it was Stew that said that so I laughed more than I should have.

Recap for anyone who gives a shit about my real estate adventures:

We contacted the home owner about her ad on the online site.  She said she had an agreement with the real estate company that she could independently sell the place if the situation came up.  We told her we were informed of the place by the real estate agent, but they weren't able to show it to us as it was undergoing some repairs due to some storm damage.  She was happy selling without the real estate agent based upon this.  We felt a bit dodgy for going around the real estate agent, but, they didn't really do anything that my internet research accomplished. 

So when it came to negotiating the price, we super lowballed her with $335,000 (she was asking $359,000, agent was asking $365,000).  Her jaw dropped to the floor and she said she really wanted at least $350,000.  We said we couldn't safely do more than $340,000, but for $345,000 we could contact our mortgage broker and see if it was doable.  She said make the call.  We went outside and mimed on the phone for a bit, went in and made the deal.

So we are now purchasing a brick house on 1/4 of an acre for AU$345,000 in Brisbane.  In a suburb where the average price is $445,000 and house prices increased 13% last year.  We are quite happy.  Thanks for the advice, desipiots.  Truly the only site I ever need.

Just wanted to give a thanks to all the housing advice from everyone.  I will let you know how we go.

Even worse:

QuoteBoth threw the javelin in India, a country best known for producing cricket players

Doesn't even sound like they're cricketers!

Quote from: Tonker on November 26, 2008, 02:47:46 AM

Quote from: Lance Dicksons Arm on November 25, 2008, 02:38:42 PM

Quote from: Eli on November 25, 2008, 02:24:26 PM

Quote from: Lance Dicksons Arm on November 25, 2008, 01:08:30 PM
Really?

QuotePITTSBURGH (AP)—The Pittsburgh Pirates hope Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel really do have million-dollar arms.

The two 20-year-old pitchers, neither of whom had picked up a baseball until earlier this year, signed free-agent contracts Monday with the Pirates. They are believed to be the first athletes from India to sign professional baseball contracts outside their country.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-pirates-milliondollararm&prov=ap&type=lgns

They probably won't pan out, but I don't think it's a terrible idea.  The Pirates aren't ever going to be able to outspend anyone, so they need to be creative about finding talent guys who can fix my computer and perform outsourced customer service functions, and this is a start.

It's still somewhat hard to believe that they need to go all the way to India to find guys that couldn't possibly have any idea how to pitch.  If these guys throw anywhere under 97...this seems silly to me.

Where's Air2300 when we need an opinion?  From what I know of Indian cricketers (cricketers in general, actually), I'd be very surprised if they don't throw at 100mph, or very close to it.  These guys can often bowl at 90mph and that's with a straight arm and a heavier ball - although admittedly, they do get a run up.  It might take a while to stop them balking.  Or to wean them off chucking it at people's legs...

Sounds like some outstanding entertainment value to me.

Quote from: Fork on November 25, 2008, 06:12:27 AM

Quote from: RD on November 25, 2008, 05:18:17 AM
I have a house buying question for anyone who is a real estate agent or plays one on TV.  Or has bought a house.  That's cool too.

I found a place in a neighbourhood that I like on a very large block, which is rare here.  The real estate agent told us the price is $365,000.  I was doing some hunting around and found a site that is like our equivalent to Craigslist and found the place listed "for sale by owner" on 19 October for $359,000, the difference presumably the agent's commission.   

What's the best way to approach this?  Call in regards to the FSBO ad?  Go through the real estate agent and at the time to negotiate an offer, spring the online ad on her?  And I was planning on offering a grand or two below the asking price, but should I still try and lowball the online price, particularly since it has been sitting there for over a month and how low is low enough?  I know things like this are market dependant, but sub-400,000 homes in Brisbane don't last long, particularly when they are on large lots.  The house is a bit further out in towards to rural part of the area, but still only 30 mins from the city centre.

If you can't tell, this is my first attempt at home ownership.

I'd say check out the FSBO house, you might like it better anyway. As a purchaser you're within your rights to get the best house for the best price by any legal means.

Sorry, quick clarification... It's the same house.  One price through an agent and the other via an online listing. 

I have a house buying question for anyone who is a real estate agent or plays one on TV.  Or has bought a house.  That's cool too.

I found a place in a neighbourhood that I like on a very large block, which is rare here.  The real estate agent told us the price is $365,000.  I was doing some hunting around and found a site that is like our equivalent to Craigslist and found the place listed "for sale by owner" on 19 October for $359,000, the difference presumably the agent's commission.   

What's the best way to approach this?  Call in regards to the FSBO ad?  Go through the real estate agent and at the time to negotiate an offer, spring the online ad on her?  And I was planning on offering a grand or two below the asking price, but should I still try and lowball the online price, particularly since it has been sitting there for over a month and how low is low enough?  I know things like this are market dependant, but sub-400,000 homes in Brisbane don't last long, particularly when they are on large lots.  The house is a bit further out in towards to rural part of the area, but still only 30 mins from the city centre.

If you can't tell, this is my first attempt at home ownership.

Quote from: IrishYeti on November 22, 2008, 07:30:31 AM
My 2 cents are (and I worked at Best Buy so I must know...... well I was a stocker so really I knew little) that Samsung is the way to go when it comes to TVs and it doesn't even seem like it's close. If I were to venture away, I'd chose Sony (I have a 37" Rear projectiol LCD I bought for $450 a year ago).
When it comes to a big purchase like a TV, I've always felt it's not the best idea to fuck around with those cheap brands because even though I'm sure many of them are good, I don't trust them and I want a TV that I can depend on

I also worked at a Best Buy, only instead of stocking, I sold TVs.  So I think I know a thing or two.  Pioneer are the best, but pricey as all hell.  Then Hitachi and Sony are the next level, then Toshibas.  I always considered Samsung like a premium cheap brand, good but not great.  However, this mostly applies to CRTs.  When I went digital TV shopping, I ended up picking a Panasonic.  In the end, picture is really a personal choice.  Some people find that a perfectly tuned set looks awful to them.

Quote from: ~Apex on November 19, 2008, 09:23:50 PM

Quote from: Furious George on November 19, 2008, 08:59:01 PM

Quote from: RD on November 19, 2008, 08:24:03 PM
Can I ask what the big hate for nationalised health care is?  The last 2 years I lived in the US, I didn't have any health cover because I worked at one of those college-graduate-transitional jobs that pay a middling amount and you ditch as soon as something better comes along.  Health cover for a foreigner in Australia was expensive, but no more expensive that what normal people with pretty good health insurance in the US pay.  Now that I'm a permanent resident, my wife and I together pay about $100 a month and get outstanding private cover, in addition to the basic Medicare cover.  In fact the only reason we have to pay anything is because we make over the $60,000 threshhold of low-income. 

I had to get an MRI recently and the doctor's visit cost nothing and the MRI cost me $36.  And I was scheduled in the same day.  I'm not sure what the comparative tax rates in AU and US are, but considering health bills can absolutely destroy people and even the worry about health insurance drives people mad, I am more than happy to pay a bit extra to ensure I'm not going to spend the rest of my life paying off the ramifications of a car accident.  Or god forbid, get dropped off at Michael Reese hospital.

The main issues I see with nationalised health care in the US is that it would be harder to implement with 10 times the number of people and there are probably proportionally more welfare/poverty cases in the US than here.  But it's not like when those people go to the E.R. the cost doesn't get passed on to everyone else anyway.

Hope you've enjoyed your time on the government work farm, comrade.

Quote from: ~Apex on November 19, 2008, 08:53:05 PM
I think it's apples and oranges when you compare a country with the population of the US to some horseshit communist hell hole like Canada. I just don't see how it could possibly mean an improvement in health coverage for me personally. Maybe cheaper. Maybe not. I have one hell of a health plan right now and i don't pay anything for it. I'm lucky I know, but also spent a year without coverage so I know what it means to be a piece of shit.

Apex got his.

Nothing left to worry about?

(Sorry... that was glib.)

Like my comment wasn't.

Hey, that's cool.  I understand that trying to make things better sucks.  Carry on.