UConn James

Yeah.... then there's that.

It's quite evident that Dick Jauron still coaches this team. Nothing's changed. Not even the excuses. And if they haven't gotten "the right players for their scheme" by now, then they're not ever going to. Either the coaches can't identify and communicate what they need, or the FO isn't fulfilling what the coaches want. My money is mostly on the coaching. You get what you pay for, Ralph. DJ is a good person but he's a %$#*ing horrible HC given the job's responsibilities.

Looked on their website... does anyone know costs on this for counters and interior floors (per sq. ft.)?

Several years ago, in the winter, I woke up at ~ 3 a.m. for some reason, looked out the window next to my bed and saw several shadows moving among the cars in the driveway. I'm not sure whether they intended to steal the car (at the time, a 10-year-old Escort sedan wagon) or were just rummaging through it. (And I do generally keep a small change purse in the jockey box with ~ $10-15 for unexpected gas emergencies and tolls when we go on trips.) Whoever it was, they were evidently either not local or they had big balls, because everyone around here (in a fairly rural area, too) knows that our house has the area's constable, and our neighbor across the street is a state trooper. Anyway, in a daze, I opened the window and shouted "Hey!" and they ran toward their waiting getaway car behind some bushes and peeled out. On balance, it might've been fun to see the liquid spilling down their pants when they heard a S&W .357 hammer rooster behind them, accompanied by a friendly, "Hey, whatcha doin'??" You feel a little shaken/nervy and violated, but life goes on.

There's an air of history about this that respects the intent. During the Revolution and even after, flags would get seriously damaged during battle. Our national anthem was written about the flag flying through the night, and despite it getting shot through, singed by flares, etc. it was still there. Likewise, this man's flag is seeing tough times, yet it is still flying. I can also appreciate the motive. I have two brothers who have done stints in the global hot spots. Each time they go, it doesn't get easier. You tell yourself that they're smart and strong, but that guarantees nothing. There you are, living your life pretty much as normal, and you just want some connection, something that the two of you share, something the son has to hold on to in order to get him through a tough day in the field, something to look forward to when your soldier returns home. I don't really get the notion that we should all only be flying pristine flags. This seems to be a relatively recent concept with our 'consume-throw away-buy another' society. And I don't really understand all the to-do about every one of the decorum rules for showing the flag, which I believe weren't developed until the Eisenhower admin. What about the flying of the 9/11 flag that was torn almost completely down the middle? Parading and flying it during the Salt Lake City Olympics? Was that proper decorum? Honor or disgrace? It all has to do with the motivation. In this case, I think the motivation is completely honorable.

Recognition, legitimacy... and a booster seat at the table for Obama to spoonfeed some whipped carrots.

Link Caught early, "feels fine" etc. As much as I dislike some of his political views, his cheating on paying taxes on his Ireland "cottage" (claimed its worth was $100K), and his VIP deal from Countryside ("[Dodd] said he thought the VIP program simply meant enhanced customer service and the ability to get a live person on the phone." Ladies and gentlemen, the Chairman of Senate Finance either doesn't understand what a VIP program is designed to do, or he's lying his ass off), a company which he's supposed to regulate, among other things that show 30 years sucking at the public teat is way too long... most of the time, I still don't wish him ill. You've gotta wonder what this adds to a 2010 race that is projected as the most vulnerable Democrat Senate seat in the country. Dodd's poll numbers earlier this year were abysmal, and showed him losing to one of his challengers, Rob Simmons, even before Simmons said he would run. Nor has all the excrement hit the air conditioning yet about the funny money stuff. Whatever kind of fallout may come by next year from the health care bill that he's got a big part in forming. It all seems to be brewing into a perfect storm for Dodd.

Can't comment as the ABC player on my dinosaur sh--box computer does all the trappings and then never plays video. Also, forgot to include before that DL confirmed that we will find out about the food drop in S6. But I was watching the S4 Finale ("There's No Place Like Home Pt. 2") and some things have stuck in my craw... these may go along with my earlier long-ish post above. I don't know, I'm working it out as I type. Just have some thoughts about the Orchid station. All of the build-up with the machines etc. was an attempt to modulate or control space / time travel. We could surmise that Dharma sent a polar bear backward in time, based on the archeological site (or perhaps it was the Others, as Tom seemed to have knowledge of the polar bears). We know Dharma sent a bunny slightly into the future during the orientation film. What of the Others' possible experimentation with it after they controlled the island? I mean, Ben seemed to know exactly how to run it. Did either group ever send people? It's in my musings of this question that may have something to do with Jacob / MIB, the reasons why some people know/seem to know the future, especially as to whether they can die/whether the island will "allow" them to die / being "island dead." It is my estimation that both groups have sent people backward and forward. This seems probable just b/c it would bring so much to the show. It also seems probable in regard to Eloise Hawking vis-a-vis her statement that "for the first time in a long time [she doesn't] know what happens next." Was Des in the hospital may have been where she had to travel back in time, or as much info as communication with her future self allowed. How would a future self (the time travel resulted in a clone of the bunny) contact a past self? Perhaps as the island shifts in time? The workings of the Orchid aren't something we totally understand yet, nor are the results of any human experimentation by either Dharma or the Others. I'm wondering whether Jacob, MIB and Richard went into the future at some point via the Orchid. The island preserves them so they will be around to fulfill that future. Likewise, Ben and Widmore know they will be alive at some future set point. Tom knew that Michael would have to be alive for a future point, no matter how he tried to kill himself. Keeping them alive unnaturally long for this purpose is the "course correction" --- it's something that needs to happen, so it does. And so, everything that has been done have been steps toward a future that is known e.g. the Others clearing the runway for Ajira. This may roll into my (admittedly, I don't know how accurate it is b/c we don't have good viewing angles (you've gotta think this was for a purpose) above theory theory that Jacob might be Adam Rutherford ... or thinking about it now... that Adam Rutherford might be the future-sent clone of Jacob. Another small note is that Danielf Faraday's notebook shows the Orchid logo with one continuous stem (in the circles around it). The actual logo has the flower stem disconnected at the center from the outer stem that wraps around. What does this mean, I dunno. Could just be a logo. Am I making any kind of sense here? You know, I pushed the Orchid to the back of my thoughts pretty quickly. But right now, I've gotta say that Ben pushing the donkey wheel is --- to this point --- my favorite scene of this series. The role of Ben is just so great (and to think that Ben Linus was a late write-in, not conceived at the outset) and Michael Emerson plays him so well.

As I understood it, that came down from the Cambridge mayor (or perhaps, sufficient pressure to do so came from the mayor), who runs in the same circles as / is friends with Gates. Probably the right call. Not sure if Crowley has been asked about the charge being dropped, but his intent in the arrest was to prevent an escalating scene (initiated by Gates, as it was he who followed the officers outside and continued screaming) from escalating even further.

There was quite a bit of info/hints released at Comic Con, as usual. A lot of it hinted that whatever happened with the bomb basically was like hitting the reset button. The 815 crash didn't happen. An Oceanic ad claimed they've had "a perfect safety record" for 30 years since it started in 1979. A Mr. Clucks ad with Hurley was shown featuring a chicken recipe he dreamed up while in Australia. ... A number of characters who have been killed off previously will be making appearances. What all of this means is open to interpretation. And yes, Richard Alpert is going to be a series regular in this last season. As for his backstory, DL said that the Black Rock is "involved." Well, I think we all guessed that when he was building the ship in the bottle at the start of the finale. In other news, I believe LOST was nominated for 5 Emmy awards, including Best Drama. There is stiff competition there, tho, so who knows about the chances.... I also think S5 was a little too... too... involved with time-travel stuff to be extremely popular. All I can say is the others are critically acclaimed b/c I don't watch them.

Well, had Gates stayed inside, he wouldn't have been arrested. It was when he went outside, as the officers leaving the scene, and started yelling that was the problem. There's really no excuse for his reaction. If he had a problem with the officer(s) the proper thing would have been to file a complaint, not screaming and disturbing the whole neighborhood's peace.

I often post in the Taser threads following their ridiculous use e.g. on a 6-y.o. girl, an elderly person sitting, a guy in a non-motorized wheelchair, etc. These people are being disorderly and disruptive, but it doesn't merit the last-ditch effort of 50,000 volts as an alternative to being shot in center-of-mass (which is what supposedly would have been the case before Tasers. Much of the time in these spotlight videos, etc. it's Boys-With-Toys). When I argue against these Tasing incidents, I'm not arguing that these people shouldn't be arrested. As such, maybe Gates should count himself lucky the officer didn't Tase him before being arrested; his celebrity may have been the one thing that prevented this. If Gates had shown ID when asked, been polite to the officer who was responding to a call from a neighbor. The ID he did provide was a university ID card, which in my experience doesn't list your address, which is the thing the officer needed to determine in this case. If Gates had just done that and explained, "Yeah, man, I just got back from a conference and my front door lock is kaput" the officer would have said to have a nice day, gotten back in the car and gone on his way. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if you're cool and explain the situation, the officer will be cool. Gates created the problem and started yelling outside. He should have been arrested. As I hear it, Gates is getting a lot of blowback of this sort in the Boston media. These episodes of older civil-rights era guys confronting police are just getting more and more embarrassing for them. They're grasping for relevancy, which means that as much as they decry racism, they have this weird need for racism in order to maintain the identity they've built for themselves around it. As it's abated in this country, especially post-Obama-victory, they've had to make some fantastic reaches to maintain relevancy. You guys can really stop acting as if it's still Selma c. 1960. I think MLK's words are more and more coming to fruition. I just believe that if it were a white dude with a backpack jimmying a door the cops would be called just as soon. It was the activity that was suspicious. Gates wasn't being judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character, which was angry, loud and stupid. Perhaps Gates' bigger problem here, and something which may speak to his character even more --- His own neighbors don't even know/recognize him? What's up with that?

I guess you're missing the point of the RNC's/McCain's apology, the announcement that it won't ever happen in future campaigns, or the out-of-court cash settlement to avoid a civil copyright suit the RNC knows they wouldn't win. A song's use in a TV ad/movie or other such use w/o permission of the artist/rights holder is copyright infringement. A song's use as a commercial promotional mechanism is a separate issue from when the music is played as music the radio/sat service/etc. No matter how many times you try to repeat the claim to yourself, this use is not the same as background music played in a bar. I don't get how you can read this article about what has transpired or have the least little bit of understanding of copyright law and come to any other conclusion. Oh, wait... I'm talking to Wacka here.

During my college days, I'd watch her on World News Now when I was up late/early writing papers, etc. or if I just couldn't sleep. Going more local, I'll put one in for Alison Bologna of Boston's FOX affiliate. What pictures there are online don't do justice for that hair. Phenomenal cheekbones. And, oh yeah, she's not the typical ditz TV reporter. Yeah, I have a bit of a brunette fetish.

Link As I wrote several times during the campaign last year, despite the adamant assertions from several regular posters here.... Using a song in a commercial --- and arguably in a campaign appearance that is being videotaped --- w/o permission from the artist is not only unethical (by misrepresenting who the singer supports), it is illegal. Just sad that a lot of people who write and should know the laws don't have the first clue as to their application. (By the by, one of my biggest beefs w/ Sotomayor is her total misunderstanding of what copyright law is and who it is meant to protect --- from her judgment in the NYT vs their freelancers, that appeals and the SC overturned and basically called her a moron). Intellectual property laws need proper enforcement in a country with a great many people trying to make a living from their work. The McCain camp did this with several songs/artists, including Heart's "Barracuda" that introduced Sarah Palin. Not to pick on them solely; other pols have done it too. Just wanted to make this clear for everyone ahead of the next cycle.

Metamucil kicked in.

It is useful for quantifiable numbers. It's one thing to say that "Cell phones cause distractions that cause accidents. Everyone knows that." Quite another for them being directly attributed in police reports to 240,000 car accidents per annum in the last year that data is available. Especially when their use/involvement in the accident isn't always noted, and especially when they estimate that the number of cell phone drivers at any specific time has approximately doubled since that data was collected in 2002.

Ralph never thought about the connection of being selected in the 50th anniversary of the AFL and on reflection, he thinks it's special. Whew! That's a load off!

A lot of 'How's it feel to be in the HOF?' fluff, so far. I seriously doubt that my question sees NFL.com ether.

Along the lines of trying to visualize the other person and what they're saying, and I would suppose there's a part of of our brain that is devoted to deciphering "body language" and other non-lingual cues when we can't see the other person. You don't have to visualize someone who's right there in the car. Well, this was only a scientific study on the issue, and the suppression of it, conducted by the Nat'l Highway agency. But, it is a valid point. It would be best for states to enact their own laws. But the salient fact of this story was that US Congresscritters pressured the dept to not release the study's findings to the states. Seems odd that info would be intentionally withheld that would give said states something to base policy on.

Just sent a Q on exactly that.

OK. I saw an earlier version on the same website. What you quoted is from a writethru.

Per the article, even though the woman is claiming sexual assault, that appears to be unrelated to the complaint contained in the civil suit. Again, she is claiming defamation, not a bodily harm.

For things that affect only the stupid user/doer, I tend to agree. This is not one of those areas. They look down from the road for 5 seconds to type, "GO'G 2 C HP. U N?" and the next thing they know their bumper is merged with your trunk. blzrul, studies show that hands-free devices aren't much/any safer. It's not necessarily the physical part of holding a phone to the ear that causes the distraction, it's in the brain's processing the conversation and response. This processing slows reaction time to the equivalent of having a .08 BAC. LA, I'm just not sure about that. Conversation in the car is distracting to some degree. But conversation through the medium of a phone likely increases the distraction level by an order of magnitude. A former CT Public Safety Commissioner (the chief of the state police) lives in my uncle's neighborhood and said he saw less of a problem with speeding (to a certain limit ~ 75-80) than with tailgating/close weaving through traffic like it's NASCAR and cellphone/texting. And this was when cellphones weren't quite as ubiquitous as they are now. People just seem immune to realizing what can happen in even 1/2 second on the road. If the call is important enough, pull to the side of the road. If it's not important enough to do that, it can wait until you get where you're going. Or if someone is with you, let them talk.

Excellent!