Vegas Halo Fan

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.

I have been through that, and it's hard. Sorry for your loss.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look for it.

The official beer of the Texas Rangers. Incidentally, I went back to the Simpatico Beer website last night. It is the same it has been for a year or more. A single page with a picture of the label on the bottle, no links to anything except an e-mail contact address at the bottom that apparently no one answers. I have sent them at least half a dozen e-mails with nothing back. The company also has a Facebook page that is almost as bare as their website. I am one of four people who have posted on their page, and no one from the company has said anything. I'm wondering if they are still in business.

If this had happened, I might have nowhere to go when I retire. Canada is one of my options (mother was Canadian, multiple relatives in the country).

Sinkholes are a way of life in Florida. The problem is that a substantial part of the subsoil is sandstone, which is easily eroded over time by underground aquifers. Sinkholes appear without warning, and they grow in size quickly. They have swallowed homes, large sections of roadway and in one case, a major part of the inventory of a BMW dealership. I pray that this young man is found alive, but I don't hold out a lot of hope for it.