MJLiverock

Another option is connecting an external hard drive via an eSATA connection on the back of the DVR. By doing this all new recordings will recrod on the expanded capacity of the external drive. The stuff recorded on the internal hard drive will still be there. To access it just disconnect the external drive and reboot the DVR. Maybe not As slick as burning it off to a DVD but it will still be in HD unlike using an S cable to a DVD recorder which is about all you can do without hacking the box's software. If it stuff you were't going to watch much anyway not a big deal to switch and you get the advantage of a much bigger hard drive going forward. But the external hard drive is paired to the DVR and the programs aren't accessible off the external drive if you connect it to another DVR (it may be possible if you know Linux very well). I've had two DVR's using Seagate Freeagent Pro 1 TB drives for 4+ years. Each drive has over 150hours of HD capacity. Coupled with mutiroom viewing I have no worries about space any more. My wife and I let entire seasons build up before watching our own private streaming collection. I recorded all the NCIS episodes off USA over the last year or so and have watched that series over time, my wife did it with How I Met Your Mother on Lifetime as examples.

Money is still involved with player development they didn't just fire him or anything, I think people are reading way too much into his comments about a couple of players whom it seems can't be criticized.

For all the bicyclists who are afraid of helmet head and are fashionistas. http://news.discovery.com...lates-safety-110920.html

I want no part of the Cardinals in the playoffs solely for the reason they are the team I hate out of all the contenders. I don't think I could stomach watching a Brewers Cardinals playoff series if they both made it that far. McCarver would be insufferable and the dread of somehow losing to the Cardinals in the playoffs and watching that team make it to the WS like that crappy 2006 team would totally ruin the postseason and this entire Brewers season.

I saw an article or opinion piece somewhere asking if the NFLX CEO just woke up in the middle of the night and came up with the idea of splitting the company and calling the DVD business Qwikster. The article questioned the CEO's comments that they put a lot of thought and effort into the idea since they haven't even bothered to obtain the twitter name @Qwikster which apparently is a pot smoking Elmo character and the website is just an under construction place holder. It seems NFLX has really jumped ahead of itself on trying to take their company to the next level and really underestimated how much they would tick of their customers.

Great article on the viewership/fandom of college football and potential markets for expansion. Basically the Big10 can and should be picky because just about any further expansion (aside from adding ND or Texas) will dilute the average number of fans following the teams and secondarily the TV eyeballs and money available to the existing schools. Really points out that some of the big TV markets really don't care about their local college football team. This has always been kind of known since many residents are transplants, or didn't go to college there, and pro sports becomes more of a focus. A friend from Boston told me that BC really isn't much of a draw because everyone cares about the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins so much that college sports are just an after thought if it all. Anyway the article is pretty interesting and points out how screwed some schools like Iowa State, Baylor, , Kansas State are if the B12 disintegrates. http://thequad.blogs.nyti...to&smid=tw-nytimessports

Hawing, I too noticed a fair amount of Oregon State fans in the the section but not really any UNLV fans. I was somewhat surprised at how many Oregon State fans were at the game in general, every where I went there was an Oregon State fan or two. Sort of like ASU last year, a good number of fans travelled. I remember there being a pretty good number of ASU fans up in our area last year too. She may not hear the guy next to me from behind him, he isn't overly loud compared to the crowd, just a constant grumbler about every play. It really is amazing anyone can enjoy a game if they expect a first down on every offensive play and a sack on every defensive play. His wife is at every game with him tuning him out but usually texting their daughter the play by play which amazes me since their daughter is a student and is actually at most of the games based on my conversations with them. GAME05 - - I can't imagine seeing someone pull out a TV like that tent camping. I 've seen guys with motor homes and big tow behind campers with a TV during Packer season but never to just watch TV. Listening the Brewer game or in the fall catching a World Series game on the radio while sitting around the fire is about as good as it gets.

Well compared to there being no evidence that he doesn't have an attitude problem, other than people who really are enamored with his minor league slash stats denying it, I'd probably err on the side that there is something to it. There is no reason for Money or anyone else in the organization past or present to make up negative stuff about Gamel. There isn't an upcoming contract negotiation. If anything, I would bet things have been held back in regards to opinions about him and this is just the stuff leaking out around the edges. I'm not one who usually cares a bit about if a player's attitude is deemed poor, or teammates don't want to hang out with a player... as long as he produces, personalities really don't matter to me or to the ability to crush a fastball. But I do tend to believe in the old "where there is smoke there is fire" idiom. If he is the starting 1B for the Brewers next year and hits well it will be brushed aside but if he comes up and struggles then more will be heard if there are work ethic or attitude issues, and what not surrounding the guy. Just because I want the guy to play well in a Brewer uniform doesn't mean I have to stick my fingers in my ears and refuse to believe the organization has some issues with him which are likely founded in a reason since they have everything to gain from him playing well and being the best he can be. Reading this thread makes a few posters seem overly defensive about Gamel, (just as a few seem a bit quick to write him off based on a few sporadic ML AB's).

I dropped the streaming option and went to disc only from Netflix with their recent price changes. I found I rarely streamed anything from them since the streaming library was pretty weak. It seemed that every show my wife or I wanted I had to get the discs anyway and probably 75% of the movies we wanted were disc only as well. I know it all boils down to preferences but I won't pick the streaming option from Netflix until the library vastly improves. Now they will be losing the Starz content (shows and movies) in February so it looks like access to new movies will drop off again.

I have the opposite problem. The guy who has season tickets next to me at Camp Randall groans and moans on every Badger offensive play that isn't a touchdown or a huge gain and if they give up a yard on defense the same thing. He seriously yells and complains about blocking on 6 yard first down runs. He's done it every game for 5 years, it is now comical to whomever I bring with me to the games as his exaggerated expectations for every single play become the inside joke between us. The other team can throw a bubble screen to the wideout, the WI DB can knife in between blockers and tackle the guy for a 1 yard gain or no gain and this fan will complain the DB should have intercepted it. My wife can't believe he even enjoys the game the way he complains about every play. I can't imagine him watching a baseball and what his expectations of every pitch would be, a double off the wall would probably leave him apoplectic because Braun didn't hit it out or something.

I've said it before but I'll say it again since the Hairston should be the starter at SS keeps coming up. I really question if he is considered a SS anymore. I'm not saying he can't play it but this idea that he can just slide in and play SS at this point like it is a video game leaves me questioning it. He has only played 1 inning of SS this year. 2010 started 53 games at SS, played 489 innings 2009 started 27 games at SS, played 245 innings 2008 started 31 games at Ss, played 271 innings 3 yrs prior to 2008 played 18 innings of SS A full season of playing defense would be over 1300 innings. Two out of 3 of those years he had negative value as a defender, small sample sure but nothing to suggest he would be good. On top of his limited playing time there, it was all over a year ago, and limited to part time then, on top of being another year older at 35. Could he play SS? It is possible, but it isn't some slam dunk no brainer that he should suddenly be thrust into the starting SS role for the playoffs having not played there at all this year, not much in in his career, not having good results playing there, being a year older.

Hairston has barely played SS in the last 4 years and has had a negative defensive rating in 2 of the last 3 not counting this year where he has all of one appearance at SS . I don't think he's viewed as a SS anywhere but here. If he were to play SS, I don't any reason to assume he will be an upgrade to make a difference and offset having Counsell or Wilson at 2nd.

Hairston has only played 1 game at SS this year and really not all that much in his career, not to mention 2 out of his last 3 years his defense had negative value at SS. I'm not so sure anyone views him as a starting SS at this point, not to mention a year from now when he will be another year older.

Playing guys that are bad is a bad decision when you have guys that are better on the bench. If you want to refute that, please do so. Excessive bunting results in fewer runs scoring. This has been proven by several people. A quick Google search will lead to you the results. If you want to refute, please do so. Playing guys you think are worse than players on the bench is your opinion. I feel that Counsel or Wilson are not better than YB, or that playing Kotsay in CF when the other choices were hurt for a game wasn't the end of the world. Excessive bunting will result in fewer runs being scored in some situations. Completely relying on percentages in the aggregate is foolish in my opinion compared to looking at the actual match up. If you believe that the odds of scoring the runner from second are the same if the runner is Carlos Gomez and the next two hitters are Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder compared to the runner being Prince Fielder and the next two hitters being Betancourt and Kotsay then we will disagree on how much bunting is too much.

Well I'll take a stab it. McGehee was absolutely atrocious in the first half but since the All-Star break he is .315/.437/.753, which in today's realm of third baseman isn't terrible. Green could have arguable been given a shot earlier but maybe McG picked it up just in time to avoid being benched, we'll probably never now how close Melvin came to calling up Green. Which also points out that RR doesn't make the decision to call up Green or not. I seriously doubt that Green finally got the call because RR stormed into Melvin's office and said I gotta have Green for the playoffs. Melvin likely decided it was time. As far as YB starting it comes down to there not being a better option. I don't believe Counsell or Wilson are better options. Hairston got picked up later in the 2nd half but he has only played 1 game at SS this year and only 62 last year, he just may not be viewed as a SS anymore. And since he has barely played it in 2 years and even less prior to that, I don't see how any fan can really have a knowledgeable opinion on how well he'd perform there since no one outside the coaching staffs of his respective teams has seem much of him there. If you are one that puts faith in the defensive stats he had negative value as a SS for 2 out of the last 3 years, (not counting his 1 game there this year). Not to mention if Hairston started at SS then one of Counsell or Wilson plays 2nd and again, neither are any better than YB.

Generally, RR's decisions don't bother me much, certainly less than a number of posters here, but I have to agree that using Betancourt to bunt in that situation was dumb. I have no problem at all with the decision to bunt but c'mon, subbing in Counsell there was obvious. Counsell doesn't bring a whole lot of offense but I have a much greater faith in him getting a bunt down than Yuni. The reason I finally posted in the topic was hearing Hardicourt explain RR's thoughts on the radio last night while driving home. He didn't want to use Counsell to PH for YB because he knew he was going to use Kotsay for Hairston and he didn't want to be forced to have Taylor Green make his major league debut batting for the pitcher with the game on the line. Hearing that explanation actually made me angry, I've never called him stupid or idiotic but this one ranks ups there with Yost having Shouse walk Howard to face Burrell. First YB is a terrible bunter, I knew that and I don't even see him bunt that often, second Prince being on 2nd and being slow, meant it had to be a good bunt, third he failed and Counsell came in as a PR anyway. If RR was so worried about using Taylor Green with the game on the line, just let Hairston bat, there was no reason he had to get Kotsay into that spot and could have easily saved him for the pitcher's spot. It's not like Hairston has some awful platoon splits and can't hit a RH pitcher or that Kotsay is so good he had to get him in there. And finally, if the manager is so worried about not having a guy's ML debut come with the game on the line then maybe he should try and get the guy into a game almost as soon as he comes up rather than wait around and act like he is playing a guy short when a game is on the line. A guy making his ML debut is probably so jacked and nervous, having the game on the line probably doesn't make it any worse or better for him. The whole explanation was dumb and at every turn made no sense.

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I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Android, but most of those innovations mentioned are apps. I guess when I was talking about innovation I was talking about the actual devices which AAPL makes rather than farms out which is the Droid model. I really don't worry so much about who gets an app a week or two first. The integration of allowing my wife to plug her camera into our Mac and have the pictures load into our networked hard drive without fiddling around is imense and it never worked that simply on the Microsoft platform we used to run, or the airplay feature from the tablet to the TV for streamed content, all working seamlessly and easy without me having to sit down and figure out how she changed a setting in frustration of her not getting it to work. Apple buried all MP3 competition with the rapidly updated iPod which left competition in the dust and started them down the path on the phones. Same with the iPad which is another potential market dominator. HP has already decided to dump their tablets, the Blackberry ones have been a disappointment, may improve with the next version, the Samsung ones I'm not sure on their progress. AMZN will be the next one to step up on the tablet route. Most of the really techie people I know prefer Droid because of the customization they can do with the system. I probably more tech savvie than 90% of the people out there but I have no desire to use the level of customization that Droid stuff offers, nor do I care how easy or hard it is to develop an app, I just want them to be available and to work, which is where AAPL was able to garner so much attention and following, sort of the keep it simple stupid philosophy. I too use Gmail, it works better than hotmail on my iPhone. I have never been a big Google search user, when it first launched it annoyed me by always coming up with Ebay auctions when I searched on something. The algos improved and fixed that but I have never really noticed it worked any better than yahoo or Bing for finding what I needed, usually not doing deep research searches. I'll look for a good QNX article, I only knew about the QNX link thru stock research on RIMM a couple years ago when they bought QNX and cited the future ability to port all apps written for the Android system.

A lot of it is AT&T's fault, but thats why I made the original point about the Google icon issue. If Jobs is so concerned about the color of the icon Google provided you would hope he would be pushing AT&T to improve the single most important thing about his device. Unless of course he is more concerned with style over function, or rather that he can keep his fanbase satisfied with style over function. I think if anyone has used an AT&T iPhone and some of the Android 2.2/2.3 phones on Verizon's LTE network or Sprints 4G WiMax network they wouldn't even consider an iPhone. Yet there's so many people with iPhones who wont even consider the much better options out there when its time to upgrade and I really don't understand why. My hats off to Jobs for building such a loyal fanbase that they are willing to only purchase an inferior product. The only thing about his tenure that has bothered me is how Apple (and to be fair other companies like Microsoft) has recently tried to slow the innovation of the competition with lawsuits while at the same time copying a bunch of Android's featuresI dropped AT&T and switched to Verizon a number of years ago because AT&T's network was so spotty. I had all sorts of dropped calls and no reception in and around Madison. This was prior to the existence of the iPhone and on some old Motorola phone. AT&T's network has been the biggest problem but for several reasons. First, despite the marketing, the coverage just isn't as good as Verizon in many areas, especially around here where Verizon customers have the ability to jump onto US Cellular's network in rural areas where USC has good (or much better than everyone else) coverage. Apple offered the iPhone to Verizon first but Verizon turned down the deal because they didn't want to share as much revenue from the subscribers with Apple as Apple wanted. AT&T was willing to give a chunk of the subs monthly bill to Apple in exchange for the exclusivity. This is the reason why the phone were initially only available on T's network in the U.S. The problem T ran into was the sheer functionality of the phone and ease of internet browsing/data usage exploded and stressed their network. There were studies showing how iPhone users consumed much more data bandwith and created more network traffic than other phone users. Verizon's LTE network just started rolling out, only a couple ares in Wisconsin are getting this year, and if I remember correctly it will be the iPhone 5 that launches this fall that will be the first iPhone to support that network. Of course Sprint is also going to get the iPhone 5 for its 4G network. I can remember being at many Badger football games last year and even Miller Park where my friends with AT&T service had no calling ability or couldn't get score updates regardless of the type of phone they had, while my old 2.5G Motorola Verizon phone had no problem. Once the iPhone became available on Verizon I picked one up and have had no problems with dropped calls or poor reception, it works just as well as my old Motorola, even in all the problem areas like my parents rural house. I'd say my data/internet ability has actually improved when out there with the new phone. Of course Verizon or U.S. Cellular could have improved the towers as well. As far as innovation goes, that was Jobs hallmark. He never let the company rest on the laurels of a popular product and worked his team to rapidly improve things, launching newer versions quickly, never allowing the competition to take the lead. This is how iPods totally dominated the MP3 player market, the iPad dominates the pads, and the iPhone is so successful. Coupled with the ease of interconnectivity between the devices and the content delivery system of iTunes he has engineered a nearly closed loop of technology that is easy to use, functions well, upgrades easily. If anyone has ever had a parent or spouse who is trying to figure out how to get pictures off the camera, or try to get their CD's to MP3, or watch a movie on the laptop, etc. the ease of connectivity for Apple products vs. PC/Microsoft is amazing. I only just made the switch a year ago after getting so sick and tired of slow loading updates, pain the butt configurations, viruses, crashes, and questions about how to make different things work in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc. Now with the iCloud serving as a central repository for all your data(i.e. photos, movies, tv shows, music, calendar, etc.) it will make customers very sticky and reluctant to switch or mix and match different hardware /software providers especially if Apple makes getting new content, accessing old content, saving new content very easy. The ability to use Facetime with other iPhone users and Mac users along with the soon to launch messenger service (send text to other iPhones without Text Message charges, like Blackberry Messenger) will also encourage friends and family to get a similar phone. As for Android, Google isn't really the innovator there either. A company called Harmon Kardon (yes the stereo and electronics maker) had a platform called QNX behind the development of many of the apps for the Android operating system. Research in Motion (RIMM, maker of Blackberry) bought QNX from Harmon a few years ago and will just now begin to use the QNX system on their phones later this year which will mean all the Android apps will run on the new Blackberries. Google doesn't even really make any money on the Android system because of its open nature, in fact Microsoft makes more money from Android than Google on the Samsung and if forget which phone makers versions. Microsoft gets about $15/phone on the Samsung Droids. When the new Blackberries with the Android apps hit the market it will be interesting to see the impact on the other device makers like Motorola and Samsung. Blackberry Messenger and the superior security of the Blackberry system coupled with the Android apps will make them a formidable competitor to any of the existing Android phones, especially for enterprise customers.

I've heard that before somewhere but I don't get it. What is there to hate so much about batting 5th? Don't like batting with guys on base? Don't like having to bat after the pitcher intentionally walks Fielder? I can see some guys not liking hitting in front of the pitcher, or even batting lead off (I batted leadoff a lot and sometimes it felt odd to step in and hit before really getting into the game, but after the top of the first is didn't matter to me). But 5th? Is it really so different than 6th or 7th? Other than hitting 1st or 8th I don't see how it would be such a big deal to a major league hitter.

Is the slate a single slab or does it come apart into 3 pieces? That will be a key factor in ease of move. I had looked into moving an old pool table last year when I discovered an old 40 year old table from my Uncle's pool hall in the garage of a cousin who said I could have it for free if I just got it out of his garage. It had a single piece, couple inch thick marble slate that weighed over 800 lbs. I called all around and most places wouldn't guarantee not to break it but Midwest Billiards in Madison said they would move it and set the thing up in my basement. The catch was the cost to drive 120 miles round trip to my cousin's house and set up was going to run like $600 plus the cost of new felt, fixing the bumpers, buying balls, refurbing the ball return, cues, etc. the whole thing was going to run me over $1000 and they wouldn't guarantee not to break the solid piece of slate. I ended up just buying a new one and having it set up. My wife was there the day the brand new table was delivered and set up, she said the guys from the pool table company took almost 3 hours to get it all up and level just to give you an idea of how long the pros took to set it up.

I agree but Counsell will almost assuredly be on the post season roster because he has played in two World Series and we all know how many times we will hear how important it is to have post season experience (no matter actual skill level) for the entire month of Sept. and Oct. I can already hear McCarver gushing about how Chipper Jones World Series experience of over a decade ago makes Jason Heyward and Kimbrel better.

Narveson better bring the good stuff for his first start of the DL, that lineup looks pretty bad on paper, I assume the powers that be figure Narveson won't need any run support and ZG will.

No Particular order but only ranking guys I actually watched play and not just saw highlights of, i.e. guys I grew up watching. 1. Brett Favre - - made the game look fun and brought a lot of the pride back to the storied Packer franchise. The whole retirement saga was a drag but when he played for GB he was great to watch and I'll get over his late career prima donna antics with time. 2. Deion Sanders - - from the moment I first saw him play for Florida State I was in awe of his athletic ability. I played CB in football and loved watching him cover guys, take them out of the game, return kicks, punts, INT'. He talked a lot of trash but he backed it up and I loved it about him. I loved it when he dumped water of Tim McCarver in the World Series for calling him selfish for playing in the NFL and in the World Series - - especially since hit over .500 in the Series, as usual McCarver was being a doofus. 3. Robin Yount - - favorite Brewer growing up. I was never a Molitor guy for whatever reason, didn't dislike him didn't really care one way or the other about him. The '82 team is the first baseball team I can remember following and Yount was the MVP so I ended up liking him. I was a SS in Little League then so I always pretended I was him. 4. Michael Jordan - - Back when I followed the NBA I liked the Bucks with Moncrief and crew, never liked the Celtics or Lakers so when Jordan came along he just seemed electrifying. I just barely remember him college but I remember his rookie year and all the Slam Dunk competitions. Later when he played that game in the Finals with the flu he further cemented my love for his game. I remember well when he retired, one of my college room mates had a life size card board picture of him that we built a shrine around and I remember well working in the bar and watching his first game back from retirement. 5. Ken Griffey, Jr. - - thought he was the next Willie Mays, loved watching such a young guy play so well right away. He was only a couple years older than me and watching him in the playoffs vs. the Yankees in the 90's was great. I always thought he would be the one to break Aaron's record but the injuries took their toll.

I can understand and agree with having the best hitter possible for use as a pinch hitter or in clutch situations. As was mentioned though, those consistent good hitters are starters and not bench players. A guy like Gamel should out produce Kotsay over the course of a season but as a limited action role player I'm not so sure. Guys complain about hating to DH where all they do is sit around between ABs, imagine being a PH'er and going days between AB's and then suddenly get up face a closer or situational specialist with guys on base. That is not the same as playing everyday and getting 3-5 AB's, there is a mental aspect to filling that role vs. playing everyday on top of having the ability to hit the ball. I think the vets get that role so often because of the mental aspect as well as they may still be decent hitters for that one moment of concentration vs. playing everyday and just not having the ability to keep it up all season long anymore. Kotsay is fine in that role, like Kapler was before or Edmonds. I remember earlier when people were clamoring for Russell Branyan for the bench in place of Kotsay because he has power, but looking at The Muscle's stats since then he doesn't look like much of an upgrade in the PH role and it was a good thing they didn't dump Kotsay for Branyan.