Patrick425

Yes, TPlush, aware of that and that is part of the discussion. However, I prefer not to have to type in my phone number every time. Also, I prefer not to wait for people who often type in the number incorrectly and have to re-type or they type the wrong number (account is under their spouses phone number, or it's an old number etc). Ok, yes, I realize I'm an impatient person and that typing a phone number (when done correctly the first time) is really not a whole lot slower than scanning a card. What I guess gets me is how oblivious some people are regarding their surrounding and anyone who is around them (or they just don't care....either way it bothers me). General "obliviousness" is probably what bugs me the most. Whether I'm driving, walking, waiting in line, eating at a restaurant, etc. Just one example...I'm in the left lane behind a car that is not keeping up with traffic and does not really belong in the left lane. In reality, this person will probably cause me to get to my destination no more than 2 or 3 minutes later (at most) than I normally would and in the whole scheme of things, that's not a huge inconvenience. But that's not what is really bothering me. What's bothering me is how someone could be so oblivious (or so stubborn) to the fact that there is a line of cars stacked up behind them and other cars weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to get ahead of them. If they just move over one lane into a lane that is traveling at a speed more appropriate to their driving style, everyone would be happy. It's the act itself, not the result of the act that really annoys me. In fact, there have been times when I've been able to get around the person and I put my hand out the window, not the finger gesture - but a wth type gesture. After that, they almost always move over to the right. So, really? You didn't notice all the cars behind you while you had a quarter mile of open road in front of you? You are that unaware of your surroundings?

Yep, agreed that it looks stupid now but most people wanted the change when it happened. Just because "most" people want something doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. Also, any evidence that most people wanted that change at that time? I just feel like the angry people were louder than the people who didn't care about the ASG ending in a tie. I was at the game and I remember thinking it was an odd end to the game, but I wasn't one of the people booing the decision. It really wasn't until I got in my car and was listening to post game sports talk shows until I realized how upset some people were about it. Didn't make sense to me and I'm fairly sure that there were several people on this board that did not get the anger over the tie game at the time and more that were not in favor of the rule change when it happened.

I read an article a week or two ago that stated you are better off picking one card and using that everywhere. Otherwise you are just spreading your points out too thin among cards....3,000 points on one card...5,000 on another.....5,000 on another. Instead of all points on one card for a bigger reward. Didn't know that about Woodmans, but just gives me another reason never to shop there. Reason 1...I have zero desire to deal with that craziness when grocery shopping. I don't even like the crowds at pick n' save. And yes, obviously there are times when you have to use a check or cash. Wedding and graduation gifts are another good example. I don't carry them either. However, for the ones I use most frequently (like Wallgreens and Pick n' Save), I use the key fob that most of them provide. I feel I'm in the less than one percent of people that use them. I don't feel like the fobs take up that much space and, like you, I don't want to put any additional cards in my wallet. Going back to your point about using various cards based on where your shopping. If you just used one or two cards with great rewards, you could save space in your wallet and build up more points on that one card.

[sarcasm]Oh no! But what if that opens the door for more All-Star games ending in a tie?! How horrible that would be!![/sarcasm] Laugh all you want, but the home field advantage thing was a really good idea at the time. Might have worked out better if teams actually tried, but they didn't really play 100% so it turned into a bit of a joke. What some argue is the most popular sport in the world, soccer, ends in ties all the time. Hockey games are allowed to end in ties and often do. NFL games can end in ties. Yet, one meaningless baseball game ends in a tie and people get upset and rules are unnecessarily changed? It's an exhibition game featuring baseball stars. The outcome and score of the game should be secondary and meaningless. My guess is if I picked 5 random years and asked you to tell me who won the all-star game in that year, you would not know. Why wouldn't you know?...because it's not important and it shouldn't be important. Whether the players tried or not, tying the game to WS home field advantage was never a good idea.

[sarcasm]Oh no! But what if that opens the door for more All-Star games ending in a tie?! How horrible that would be!![/sarcasm]

Just had a chance to skip through this thread. Wow, very impressive Briggs!

Yeah, I'll never get the check thing in this day and age. In this day of credit card miles and reward points, use a credit card for everything and pay it off every day or at least once a week (most credit cards allow this, but not all). Seems like a hassle, but it literally takes 2 minutes to do this. You are then basically using your credit card like a check or debit card and accumulating points. This is what my wife and I do. Pretty much every purchase we make, we use a credit card (a Southwest rewards card), and we pay it off daily. We usually use the points to take a trip to Vegas every year. On top of that we are signed up for the Mlife "rewards" club at MGM properties. The last two years we have received a 3 night free stay at NY, NY along with $100 "resort" money (and we really are not huge gamblers).

Drove from Ames, IA to Waukesha yesterday afternoon. Traffic was not too bad until I hit Madison at around 5pm. At times traffic basically came to a halt on I-94 between Madison and Waukesha. I drive in traffic like that just about every day too and from work, so I'm someone used to it, but not really what I was hoping for after being in the car 10 hours (also drove 5+ hours to Ames from Waukesha in the morning).

When I first read this, I was thinking maybe you were talking about Basketball. Sure, Minnesota kept it a close game until towards the end, but A) WI was playing without one of their QBs for most of the game and B) They won by 14 (which I believe was the spread). Having said that, I do not think they are a playoff caliber team. The two teams they beat (Michigan State and LSU) that vaulted them in the rankings ended up really not being that good and I feel like the rankings were never really adjusted for that. I feel they are more of a 6-10 rank team.

[sarcasm]Gee, you mean a slightly above average middle reliever would not make $7.5M/yr. Yeah..that would be a shame.[/sarcasm] It's better to put the money on owner's pockets? I really don't have a problem with that. I don't have a viewpoint on the world that anyone that makes money by owning or investing in something is automatically evil and greedy (even if they make a lot of money doing so). I think they earn their money more by taking the risk than a middle reliever making $7.5mil per year pitching 60 innings and carrying a career ERA of 4.2 All this does is takes a chunk of FA's out of play for teams like the Brewers every year.

[sarcasm]Gee, you mean a slightly above average middle reliever would not make $7.5M/yr. Yeah..that would be a shame.[/sarcasm]

So, we just happened to have a family trip planned to SD when the WBC is happening there. I had signed up for the pre-sale offer and they sent me the code, but you have to buy a strip and the lowest price is around $70 per strip (in nose bleed seats). We really do not have plans to go to more than one or two games (preferably at least one USA game). Not sure what the normal attendance is for these events. Do they sell out? I'm hoping to buy some single game tix on stub hub closer to the time of the event (hopefully better seats at a cheaper price than I would pay for a full strip). Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Just renewed our tickets a few days ago. We get the Saturday 20 pack which always includes Fan Appreciation night (which usually falls on the last Saturday in September). So, I was looking over the schedule and realized that the Brewers play the Cubs on the last Saturday in September. I may not be remembering correctly, but I think when this happened before the Brewers moved Fan Appreciation Night to a different weekend. However, if you look at the schedule for next year, the only other weekend in September that they are home is the first weekend. So, not a lot of options. Cubs in town on Fan Appreciation night? Ughh...

I'm guessing there was so much money being thrown around for tickets that Cleveland fans cashed in. I actually predicted this in the 2nd post of this thread.

And the series. Way overpitched Chapman. There was absolutely no reason to have him pitch last night.

Maddon, O...VER...MANAGING. If the Cubs blow this, it's completely on him.

$2000? To stand? In a non-clinching game?

In comparison, my 82' playoff/WS tix. $8 to sit in the bleachers!

If you have $2,000 you can get a SRO ticket for game 3 at Wrigley on StubHub. If you want to actually have reserved seat, then it's another $750 for a seat way in the upper corner of the stadium. What's that? You want front row? Lowest price listed is $14K each and then it jumps to $20K each (both listed as "best value" tickets on StubHub). If it goes to game 7 (or if the Cubs have a chance to clinch in game 6), I can see half of Progressive Field being Cubs fans (as a many Cleveland fans may have a hard time turning down the outrageous prices they can get for their tix).

Interesting. I always read that if you are having trouble sleeping in the middle of the night, don't get up and check your email or browse the internet. I also read not to turn on lights or watch TV. Do light and TV also have the same effect on melatonin (I fall asleep all the time while watching TV)? I just thought this was said more from a don't stimulate the brain if you are having trouble sleeping standpoint. Although, maybe that's really the same thing. So, then is it also better to a read physical book at night as opposed to an e-book? My wife and I have always run a fan at night at low speed. However, we now have a 16 year old senile cat that wants to howl in the middle of the night and jump on and off the bed while doing so. So, now we turn the fan on high and close the bedroom door. Its working like a charm.

Yeah...I also do not understand why teams don't just run wild on Lester. The other day they were showing Seager with a 18-19 foot lead on Lester, but he never went. Go! What are you waiting for?

Wow...the Dodgers are so impatient at the plate.

Well, wouldn't it just make sense that without any give-aways, they would draw more of a crowd on a Sunday as opposed to a weekday night? My point is that you should use the give-aways to draw people to games that are less in demand. The reason you give away things is to get more people to come to the game. For example, I would never schedule a give away for a Cubs game or Cards game (yet they do it all the time).

We always get the Saturday 20 game pack (which includes all Saturday night games, some Friday games and usually 2 or 3 week night games). So, we rarely if ever go to a Sunday game (not a big bobble head collector). However, a couple of thoughts: - Never understand why they are not more "strategic" with their giveaways. Why have a giveaway pretty much every Sunday? Don't they normally get large crowds then anyways? Seems like giving away an item on something like a Tuesday night vs. Colorado would allow them to fill more seats on those "non-popular" game days. Either way, why always have the bobble head give away on the same day of the week? Maybe there are people who would like to get bobbleheads, but Sundays are not good days for them to attend games for some reason or another. - I agree with Jim regarding the limiting to the first 20-25K or whatever number they come up with. I'll add that one of the reasons that I don't like it is that there usually no give-aways that I feel I must have or would be disappointing if I didn't get (I like the soft shell coolers, but I don't even know if they do that give away any more). However, when they limit the number of giveaways for a game, whether or not I care about getting the give-away, it just makes me have to leave my house that much earlier to get a decent spot (even though we already have pre-paid preferred parking!).

So, probably common knowledge and you would think I would know this considering Bumgarner is on my fantasy team, but I didn't realize that he audibly grunts during each pitch. Also, not sure who is watching, but regarding the ground ball to SS with a guy at 2nd that ended up in a run down that resulted in a runner 2nd anyways (bottom of the 5th)...I don't understand why "fake" throws are not used more often to avoid long run downs. If Crawford would have just run right at the runner and then faked a throw to 3rd, he probably would have "re-froze" the runner and would have been able to tag the guy himself and the hitter would not have been able to advance to 2nd. Lastly, what a pitching dual so far. Definitely living up to its billing.