Vegas Halo Fan

Thanks for the tip. That may be what I do. I do heavy duty computing from time to time, but that isn't what I bought my laptop for.

Looks like a long time has already passed. Nice recovery, DR.

Next thing you know, we will be importing content from China.

My brother-in-law is one of the people potentially facing a 20 percent cut. He and my sister are already living on the edge, with her working a lot of overtime just to keep them afloat. I'm not sure how they will cope if this happens.

I appreciate the offer. At this point it probably isn't worth making another investment in it. It's a Win XP machine, and as cheap as replacements are (and since the OS is no longer supported, AFAIK), it's probably time to move on - if I decide that I need a laptop at all. Most things I was using a laptop for, I can now do on my iPhone. I'm not one to take work home from the office, and the laptop was mainly for vacations and times when the two desktops were in use (which never happens now, since my stepchildren are grown). I wasn't doing any heavy duty computing with it.

Back in my early days with computers (IBM PC and PC-XT days, before anything was mouse driven), Compaq came out with a "portable" computer that looked like the one in your photo (in fact, that may be it). "Luggable" is how my boss phrased it. These things had to weigh at least 30 pounds. The screen was monochrome and it was small even by early 1980s standards. The handle was on the back of the keyboard, and it snapped into the main case with spring loaded tabs. When the springs started to wear out or the tabs began to crack from supporting the weight of the machine for too long, sometimes the keyboard would abruptly detach from the main unit with usually catastrophic results.

My issue isn't with the retirement benefit. It's with qualification for disability payments, and how many people pull it off for the thinnest of reasons. I personally know of two cases in which the individuals involved qualified for disability due to self-inflicted conditions - one who fried his brain through repeated street drug abuse, the other who killed too many brain cells with beer and bourbon. The first person I mentioned never worked a day in his adult life. He was 18 when he was granted disability. I turn 65 in 2020. I hope that there is something still left, since I've been paying into this system for decades now.

That's a great story. Ah, memories.

I was a salesman for a big and tall men's clothing store in the summer of 1977. I was paid the princely sum of $500 per month, half paid on the first and 15th days of each month, plus three percent of everything over $8K for the month (that's right - the first eight grand, at 1977 prices, brought no commission). This outfit had a time clock that measured time in hundredths of an hour, and they were very picky about both work hours and lunch hours. The chain was owned by a doctor who was making a killing because he had essentially a captive clientele. A number of professional athletes had accounts at our stores. The store manager somehow believed that he was throwing me a major bone by making me manager of the underwear department two months after I hired on. We had no cash registers. All receipts were written out by hand and tabulated using a calculator, including sales tax. Credit cards were run using duplex paper with carbon. It was an archaic operation even by the standards of the time. They spread out the Wall Street Journal on the desk in the break room, so we could all stay up on the latest news in the garment industry. We could buy merchandise at cost plus ten percent, but on our salaries we couldn't afford much. We carried a lot of high-end stuff. We even had a tailor on the premises who custom fit all of our dress pants, suits and (if necessary) dress shirts. He drove a new Cadillac, so I know he was well paid. The toughest part of the job for me was trying to convince people I was giving them a good deal when I knew that the store had a minimum 100 percent markup on everything we sold. We were ripping customers off because they had nowhere else to go. Strangest pair of pants I sold was 27 inch waist, 43 inch inseam, to an Oklahoma State basketball player. While driving in to pick up my last paycheck, I heard on the radio that Elvis Presley had died.

And herein lies the rub. It's just a matter of who is going to force bundles on us - the content providers or the cable/satellite companies.

Neither do I. Players aren't marketable because of what they make.

Glad to hear that the issue is on the way to resolution. Since the move, my results have been mixed. Sometimes the board is very fast. At other times, I will click to open a post, leave the room to get a drink, and when I come back the post still hasn't loaded. Wish I could help with Linux, but that isn't one of my areas of expertise.

I have had two Dells, and it's been a mixed bag. I have a desktop that is pretty much bulletproof, still running strong (Win Vista). My laptop, well...we paid a lot of money for it to get additional features. The hard drive failed, the touch pad quit working, and when I sent it back to Dell for a warranty repair on the latter, they returned it with the same problem I had when I shipped it. Now it doesn't even boot up, loads the Windows flash screen and shuts off.

I haven't done an iPhone, but I have replaced screens in two other telephones. It isn't that hard. You can probably find a video on YouTube that shows you how. I would buy the kit.

Selig did nothing about PEDs until Congress stepped in and threatened to revoke baseball's antitrust exemption if they continued to do nothing. Now he wants to be Mr. Tough Guy.

The altitude in Denver ought to do wonders in helping him lower that ERA. Hey Colorado - just consider that payment for Brian Fuentes.

. Exactly my point. He played for a team who can hand pick their entire schedule - except for the final game. When they make it to a BCS bowl they are usually exposed as grossly overrated. His draft stock has plummeted, IMO.

That's a lot of guaranteed money for an NFL deal. I wonder what the deal would have been if they had lost to Denver.

Say what you want, DR is a wild man. I just can't compete with a Friday night like that.

I'll have a beer in your honor. Have a great day.

Trout had a terrific year, but he has less than one full year in the majors. I'm sure the club is going to make sure he is taken care of.

The important thing is that his recovery is on schedule, and there have been no setbacks. Where is that sarcasm icon when you need it?

Done for all. Will pass the word along.

I missed it, too. When I follow the link today, I get an analysis of the Oakland Athletics.

I've seen it and like most bobbleheads, it looks nothing like the person it is supposed to be portraying.