JimH5

Just curious, would humans be red meat? Unfortunately, I may be a little more marbled than I'd like to be.

It may just be a generational thing (I'm 45 and way older than most on this board)--or it may also be a regional thing (I've been living away from Milwaukee for the past 10 years, mostly in the East)--but I don't see the bobblehead phenomenon as being universal. I've attended memorabilia shows in NY, Philly, NJ and Florida, and haven't really seen any major traffic in and around modern bobbleheads. I've stood in line for autographs at the Philly show, the MAB shows, the White Plains shows and others, and I've never seen someone with a bobblehead, waiting to be signed. I subscribe to SCD, and don't see much there in advertising or editorial content focused on bobbleheads. I was a regular listener to WFAN in NY, and there was hardly a word ever mentioned on Yankee or Met bobbles. I regularly follow memorabilia auctions, and while they often focus on vintage material, there is often new stuff sold (signed balls, game used jerseys, bats, etc.). I did go to a game in Baltimore this past year and they were lined up early to grab a commerative Cal Ripken, so there is interest in some places. Maybe it's just that all the bobblehead traffic is on eBay or local card shops--or in places I'm unaware of. I'll buy that as a possibility. Now, to my point. . .there are way too many variables to say that this item is DEFINITELY going up in value. What if Prince's performance wanes? What if he is injured? What if the economy tanks and discretionary spending pulls back? What if he leaves via free agency or trade to a market that doesn't embrace bobbleheads? There are only two possible choices, to sell or to hold. . .If you're worried that this $400 item will drop to $250 or $75 or $20, then you should sell. If you're fine with keeping it regardless of its price, then you should keep it.

Do you have a wireless connection from someone else's unsecured router?

I would opt for the Turkey. Farewell sweet bird, Daddy's hungry.

I know nothing about modern bobbleheads and their value. That said, if you could get $400 for something you paid nothing for, then by all means, do it. It seems unlikely to me that there would be a market for a new collectible at a price much higher. The number of buyers willing to dump $400 is much higher than the number of people willing to drop $600. And there's no telling when bobbles could become Beanie Babies, or Pogs. . . And there's no telling that Prince might not turn out to be Pete Incaviglia. If you're in it for the money, then take the money.

I love Gammons. He's a "pay attention" guy, as when SportsCenter, or Baseball Tonight is on and Gammons does a report, I stop what I'm doing and pay attention to him. Then when he's done, the rest of it goes back to being background noise.

If she's a 5th grade girl, she's allowed to be cheesy. Ask her if Wickman's teeth are as brown as they look on tv.

I signed up for Skype Pro and Skype In, and haven't had any problems--if that's at all helpful. . .

Not sure if there are any others who have used Skype before. I signed up for it a few weeks ago, and now have a new favorite internet application! We left New Jersey in December, and are now in Singapore for the next couple of years. We were able to get a local (262) number for our families to call, and we are billed just 2.1 cents per minute on that phone line. Or, we can do Skype-to-Skype calls including video for free. Simple to use, simple to install. And it works. . .highly recommended.

Life is good, so it's always sad when someone is denied the opportunity to live a long, healthy life--whether by his own choice or by accident or disease.

I'd skip having the wristbands signed. I don't ever remember seeing signed wristbands that look better than ones left unsigned.

I used to work at a hotel, and there is a health club there, where hotel guests and employees could work out. One time, following a workout, I encountered my boss in all his glory in the locker room. After seeing what I saw--and he was completely comfortable in his nakedness--it was difficult to see him in the workplace, and not remember what he looked like sans clothing.

why do some people need to have several of the same item autographed? Occasionally, someone will get multiples to give to their friends/kids, etc. It's hard to walk into a house with 3 kids and just have 1 "present". But I'll agree that doesn't explain away the hoarders. Some people think that if one is good, then two is better and ten is even better. Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, and you'll find the same behavior but a different subject. While it's easy and snarky to look down my nose at the autograph gluttons, I'll admit that I do enjoy buying from autograph dealers who have a thorough inventory, and those guys have to get their inventory somewhere. . .

Earlier this year, my daughter graduated from a crib to a "big girl bed". For her bed, we went to IKEA and picked one out that was pretty sleek and low to the floor. She rolled out of it one night and just laughed it off. Anyway, the bed is called MALM, which makes no sense to me. In Swedish, it must mean "low rise bed that reduces injury to young children". We have also bought bookcases from IKEA called BILLY, and a single shelf with a hidden bracket called LACK. Goofy named stuff that's not bad for the price.

I was on hold for 12 minutes yesterday calling Directv, and instead of hearing messages like "your expected wait time is __ minutes" or "your call is important to us, blah, blah", I had to listen to an endless stream of commercials talking about programming offers. So, in addition to being poorly staffed in their call center, they further punish their callers with sales pitch after sales pitch. Weak.

Ugh. Age 24 with so many opportunities. . .and to be gunned down in your own home. . . How sad for so many people.

Derek Jeter's tax advisor is so not-clutch.

I like the game, but I'm a bit troubled by the whole notion that the longer you play, the more food is donated to charity. Is there a giant barge of rice docked somewhere that won't get distributed to hungry people if I decide to cut a session short? Who is paying for the rice, and why do they care if I play their vocabulary game or not? Isn't the idea to feed hungry people? I like charity and I like the vocubulary game, but it seems to be an odd connection between the two.

I was out shopping today with my 3-year old daughter. She needed to go to the bathroom, so I took her into the mens room. There was just one stall, and the toilet was a complete mess. Who is too lazy/selfish/antisocial to clean up their own urine? I spent 30 seconds cleaning up after some other disgusting creep so my daughter had a "clean" place to go, since the previous user was some filthy subspecies. Honestly, it's the most basic consideration you can have for your fellow man.

I still harbor ill feelings toward people who wronged me in elementary school more than 30 years ago. Curse you, Rick. And then there was the guy who cut my salary by 30 percent with no notice in 1986. You're still a chump, Mark. And while I haven't forgotten these losers, I still have moved 99.9 percent of my life on to better things. It sounds as though you are putting a very large emphasis on the role that this job had in your life. Your reputation was scarred, and you lost something you really liked. But what about the other stuff? Your family, your friends, the Brewers, your hobbies? There are so many more important things than your job and where the money is coming from. You're always going to hate this guy, but you've got to fill in the gaps with other stuff that makes your life more pleasant. Your current employer and the rest of the people around you deserve you to live in October--not in January.

While I agree with what you say JIMH5 about it being "his" team, it is comforting to know that in our decisions we plant the seeds of our own destruction. Steinbrenner may indeed be a wiser man in some ways, but Torre has forgotten more baseball than George will ever know. If he continues to throw money at players he will insure his unhappiness, which quite frankly, delights me. His attitude of "I deserve to win because I've got the biggest payroll" flies in the face of logic and hard work and intelligence. Maybe in a bygone era could the rights of Kings and Tyrants be asserted, but the world has left the George Steinbrenners behind. That was a good post, Tbadder. I shudder to think that I'm now about to take George Steinbrenner's side on an issue, but I think I am. He's an old man, in the winter of his life. He wants to win, really, really badly. He owns the definitive franchise in all of team sports, worldwide. The YES network has an estimated value of $3 billion. He draws 4 million fans per year. He has the resources to pay whatever it takes to get players, coaches and managers--so why shouldn't he spend it? He pays his luxury taxes, and revenue sharing and all the other things that penalize him for having what he has. I don't think he says "I deserve to win because I've got the biggest payroll". I think he says "I want to win, and I have the resources to do whatever it takes to win, and so I'll use those resources to give myself the best chance to win." Yes, it's true that other teams are at a financial disadvantage. But that's not Steinbrenner's problem. He can't pretend that he doesn't have the money. New York fans wouldn't stand for it. I love Joe Torre, and think he's a terrific baseball guy. But Steinbrenner wants to win the World Series, and the Yanks have been falling short in recent Octobers. If he thinks someone else can get the job done, it's not unacceptable for him to make a move.

The article with the Steinbrenner interview was written by Ian O'Connor in the Bergen Record. It's a good paper and not at all a tabloid. O'Connor used to write for USA Today, and I don't think his work was ever of questionable integrity. Then, the AP took the story and did their own take on it. The most compelling part of the article should be that Steinbrenner seems to have a lot more going on than we thought. There was another piece written recently that made him out to be a somewhat pathetic figure, seemingly having lost a lot of mental prowess. And while he may not have his best fastball anymore, it doesn't look as though he's ready to be spoon fed his oatmeal. My thought is that it just may be time for Torre to go. It's Steinbrenner's team, and he has every right to establish his own expectations. If the team isn't meeting them, then he's in his right to make a switch. Who knows if another guy can light a fire under that Yankees team, but the stoic, controlled father figure on the bench may just not be reaching these guys anymore. Let Girardi or Mattingly have a go at it. . .or my personal fave, Bobby Valentine.

He remains a classy player. You never hear boo from him, and he hustles all the time. Never in trouble with the law. Seems to enjoy playing in Milwaukee. He should stick somewhere next year, if not in Milwaukee.

Watching the Florida Gators lose at home is very nice. I used to live in Jacksonville, and Gator fans are as annoying as fans of any team, bar none. Many tears will be shed in Jacksonville, Gainesville and North Florida tonight, and that brings a smile to my face. And my interest in College Football is completely minimal.

Instead of ogling grocery patrons, I'd recommend doing something nice for your mom. It's not Christmas or Mothers Day, and its probably not her birthday, so an unexpected nice gesture would make a huge impression, and would start to pay down that debt you've got from years and years and years of her doing nice things for you. Wash her car Cook dinner and clean the dishes Do the laundry--everyones, not just yours Anything that would make her happy Be nice to your mom, and then when its time to bring home one of those hotties from the grocery store, she'll see that you're not a selfish rube who doesn't know how to treat women.