pretendastronaut

Oh, also, as for the appendix scene, I think they are heading to the two timelines being linked somehow, though I have no idea how. But this is really the second time this season that sideways Jack was surprised by something on his own body. There was a scene in an earlier episode where he seemed surprised by a cut on his neck, and we saw no reason he should have had it. I think it was in the first episode, when he went into the bathroom on the plane. And again, with the appendix, he seemed surprised to be noticing the scar, and it certainly didn't look like a 20+ year old scar.

The prevailing thought I'm seeing online is that it will be Juliet, and I agree, they seem to be hinting that it's someone from the island because they seem to like to set those up like you don't see them coming. However, I'm not sure it won't be Jack's ex-wife from the original timeline. So far, none of the Losties have really known each other in the sideways timeline, they're just having encounters. Also, other relationships seem to be maintaining in the sideways timeline.

Is it just me, or do the graphics in that 2K10 video look like they're from the previous generation of systems, especially from the pitching side?

More from ESPN's MLB Rumor Blog;

It would be a miserable time to be a Mets fan lately and this offseason was the icing on the cake.

It probably seemed that way because, it's exactly what happened. They very publicly decided on an end date for the show to get away from the killing time seasons, at which point, the show very quickly got back on track and became interesting again with season 4.

The Nationals have been very active this off season. Their pitching rotation could be good this season. They need some fliers like Wang to work out though.

Really enjoyable and hilarious interview. I liked Seth and wanted the best for him. His performance in the final weekend against the Cubs in 2008 will be forever etched in my mind. Best of luck to Seth in the future.

Some thoughts from watching this thread unfold; 1- I want to also echo that I really appreciate the insight thebruce44 is bringing to the conversation. Accusing him of bias and that he has no place in the conversation is unfounded. As far as I'm aware, he's the only one in this thread who has any life experience related to these issues, he's obviously going to have a better understanding of issues then we do, that's not bias. Unfortunately, as he's experiencing, we're all experts on the internet. 2- There seems to be a lot of double speak about the jobs creation issue and I don't think anyone is stating it correctly or clearly, but more how they prefer to view it. What Obama has said about the stimulus and jobs creation is that the stimulus is ultimately about putting people to work in the present, to build the infrastructure we need into the future when the economy is back on it's feet. So yes, it's about jobs for the next few years of construction, but not about people having these jobs forever, and in having these jobs, we begin developing the technologies our future needs. So it's not fair to attack this first that it will create to many jobs (as was done earlier in the thread), and then that it won't create enough long term (as is being done now). If you'll recall the stimulus was initially attacked because these construction jobs weren't "careers". 3- I don't understand why people are coming up with these scenarios about today, and examples about if I have this many people in a car, why would I take the train, etc., and then using that as a defeat against the rail line. It doesn't make sense. This isn't meant to outright replace how we transport ourselves (if it was, it would have to be far larger than it's going to be), it's meant as a supplement. And yes, this is a change in our way of lives into the future, so comparing it to how we do things today isn't going to mesh up perfectly, and it will be met with resistance. But at some point we are going to need alternative methods of transportation, and an efficient rail line makes sense. If you don't believe/care about the environmental issues, that's fine, because on a logistical standpoint, we can't just keep putting everyone into more cars and putting those onto the roadways, we simply won't have the space for all of these cars as our living areas continue to populate. 4- The repeated questions that center around, "here's what I like about cars, why would anyone ever want something different?" as justification for it being a failure. The fact of the matter is there are people who are willing to trade one convenience for another. It won't likely be a majority of the populace at first, or even for a very long time, but that doesn't mean there won't be enough people to make the idea worthwhile either.

As far as character changes in the alternate timeline, I think that makes sense since their destiny was changed to not end up at the island during that flight. It would stand that plenty about their lives could be changed with a new destiny.

I've been self-employed for 2.5 years, and have had plenty of experience with insurance companies in that time. I would be amazed if you found an insurance company that would cover a pre-existing condition. Most of them will attach a rider for the simplest of things, the important thing is to understand their rules about the rider. For instance; My wife had some back issues after being pregnant, and when we tried to switch insurances over a year later, careful review of the riders really opened up a lot of holes, such as, some insurance companies wouldn't cover ANY back related issues for her ever then. So if she got in a car accident and messed up her back and needed surgery as a result of that, it wouldn't be covered. The one we eventually went with pretty much put a time limit on anything they considered a pre-existing condition, and if in that time frame there are no other issues with that condition, they will re-evaluate the rider. Also, they waive the deductible for accidents for 30 days, for issues related to the accident, which is really unique. That's about the best we could come up with. You take a lot more risk on by striking out on your own, you have very little protection in the law if you're not on an group plan. However, I wouldn't be so bold as to say never leave your job so you can have insurance. Depending on your business goals, you may be getting your own group plan that way initially. It's important to not have a gap in coverage. If you leave, pick up COBRA as a stop-gap just in case. That ended up saving our butts pretty good personally.

From my understanding, the airport destination isn't final in any sort, so we don't need to treat it like it is. I'm excited about this personally. The Hiawatha line from Milwaukee to Chicago is awesome, even if it isn't ultimately that much faster than driving and the usage of it has doubled in the past 5 years. I can read a book, take a nap or whatever on that ride, and not have to deal with parking, traffic, tolls and other issues. The differences in available public transit are certainly legit, and hopefully the planning of stops takes that into consideration. I would think it would also have some employment benefits for both cities after it's up. If you've ever taken the Hiawatha service in the morning or evening, there are a lot of people who use it to clearly travel to a job one way or the other between Milwaukee and Chicago. The same could easily be true then with Madison and Milwaukee. It's all great to be a car person if you want to be, but it's clear that we need more mass transit options into the future, and has been for some time.

Latest rumor mill says the A's have presented Sheets and offer and that the Cubs have put their pursuit of Sheets on the backburner because he's out of their price range.

Bones shocked me as well, and in fact, I didn't initially have it in this list and then I saw its numbers and realized I needed to add it. Crazy.

Because I like wasting time, I pulled up last season's schedule and grabbed some numbers for what I felt were each night's "flagship" shows, so lots of lesser shows are left off this list. These are average viewers in millions over the course of the season. It's pretty clear that NBC gets slaughtered. Heck, I was surprised that on Monday nights, Medium was higher rated than Heroes or Chuck, and it took off for CBS this season. Sunday: The Amazing Race | CBS | 10.28Cold Case | CBS | 12.00Desperate Housewives | ABC | 15.6The Simpsons | FOX | 7.7 Monday: Chuck | NBC | 7.36Heroes | NBC | 7.6Medium | NBC | 8.5How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 9.4Two and a Half Men | CBS | 15.1The Big Bang Theory | CBS | 10.1CSI Miami | CBS | 14.22The Bachelor | ABC | 10.4Boston Legal | ABC | 9.624 | FOX | 12.62Fringe | FOX | 9.96 Tuesday: The Biggest Loser | NBC | 9.5Law & Order: SVU| NBC | 10.3NCIS | CBS | 17.79The Mentalist | CBS | 14.47Lost | ABC | 11.05American Idol | FOX | 23.82House | FOX | 12.0 Wednesday: Knight Rider | NBC | 6.1Criminal Minds | CBS | 14.89CSI NY | CBS | 13.03Private Practice | ABC | 9.2Bones | FOX | 10.74 Thursday: The Office | NBC | 9.230 Rock | NBC | 7.5ER | NBC | 10.3 Survivor | CBS | 12.92CSI | CBS | 19.03Grey's Anatomy | ABC | 14.5 Granted, it's entirely personal opinion about what is or isn't a good show, but an opinion here or there hardly dictates which shows make money. And for the record, one of my favorite shows is Friday Night Lights, which is on NBC on Friday nights. Of course, it gets horrible ratings and it would be cancelled by now if it were for DirectTV stepping in to help with costs.

Not to keep going on about it, but to echo it anyway, a life-long friend went through a long divorce last year, and he wanted to just be amicable about the whole thing, and I insisted over and over to him to get a lawyer. He didn't. I had drinks with him a few weeks ago and he got hosed in some areas because of it, and regrets it now. Overall, best of luck to you. You sound like you've got a good head about the whole thing at the moment.

Ya, Conan has been going after NBC, but last night he was really sticking it to them. It seemed pretty solid everything was final last night. These next two nights should really be something.

Mulder didn't throw off the mound for them yet, he was just long tossing. It still sounds like once they see him throw, they'll give him a contract. Edit: Invader posted the same I see, but also, it occurs to me you maybe indicated that with the quotations around throw already.

This is from Trenni's twitter page; To see video of Sheets and hear my interview w the righty, watch Hot Stove on @MLBNetwork at 6E/5C. And of course we'll have analysis!! Sheets said he usually throws curve in upper 70's but velocity and strength will come. Also said he's not limiting team options to South. Sheets threw about 55 pitches today. Consensus is he looked pretty good. Told me he feels great. Only 4th time he's thrown off mound. Sheets hitting upper 60's to low 70's on his curve about 1 hour ago from Echofon I'm no scout but Sheets curve looked pretty darn good. Great location. Obv no batter in the box, but he still looks strong. Just talked w scout, re:how Sheets looked. Good mechanics. Great shape. Is way ahead of where he'd be velocity wise at beg of normal spring about Sheets taking a quick break. Told he will throw breaking balls second next time out. Scouts eager to see his curve. First round on mound for Sheets all fast balls. Topped out at 91MPH. One scout I've talked with says he looks good and 91 is good for Ben Right now Sheets hitting 88-90 on the gun. Hitting most of his spots but erratic on a few. About 20 scouts and coaches at UL-Monroe to watch Ben Sheets. Talked w him a bit. Looked really strong during long toss. Just took the mound

I can't help but think of Chase every time I see Freddie Prinze. Early in tonight's episode I thought, "I sure hope he doesn't get anything strapped to his wrist." That was funny timing.

I liked the first two hours as well. Entirely predictable, but I liked how how they brought Jack and Chloe in. It was interesting that they started with the "Events happen in real time" statement again. Wonder how long that will stick around before they drop it again.

There is an article on ESPN Insider about this right now. I'm not sure if rules permit me to copy the whole thing, so I'll convey the crux of it with a the important quotes; When facing elite arms, bet on Braun

I just don't understand Leno's play in this at this point. He's just getting assailed in all corners, why would you want to continue to put yourself through this? It won't be forgotten.

The deal gives Netflix the right to stream WB's library. I haven't seen details yet about how soon they start rolling out, but it seems to be the full library. Overall I think this is a great deal for Netflix. Netflix knows the majority of it's customers don't rush to receive releases the day they come out, so it was a pretty good move overall. It might tick off a small segment of their base, as seen in this thread, but they get a pretty darn good return in exchange for the smaller number of people who will be upset.

I agree with this stance. I really liked Yost at first, and still think he was a good hire at the time. I'm curious what his actual role is the Royals, but it should be a good fit for them both for the time being.