- 05:36 PM
- 04/23/24
Any jobs up there in Massachusetts, NH or VT?
NH has traditionally had a low unemployment rate, but job availability depends much on your skill set. Technical, engineering, and the like are always available, but manufacturing jobs, except skilled machining, not so much. Building trades jobs are not too good here, as the seasonal factor plays a big role. It's tough to build houses in a foot or two of snow, so builders usually wind up trying to supplement income by plowing driveways. MA and VT have state income taxes, and any difference in wages is usually eaten up by this. Sales taxes also eat income there. Housing costs in NH tend to be higher than in surrounding states, again because of the dependence on real estate taxes rather than sales or income tax, but fuel and grocery prices are about the same. We'd welcome another SpoFite to the Granite State.
posted by Howard_T at 05:40 PM on July 11, 2013
Hey, JG, nice to hear from you again. All is very well with this guy in southern NH, his wife who has begun her summer school program with special needs kids, and his wayward son, who was last heard from in Paris while backpacking his way around Europe. Hope it is the same with you, and I hope we'll soon hear more from you in our "always friendly" discussions.
posted by Howard_T at 04:18 PM on July 09, 2013
How about instead of a +1, we use a thumbs-up for like and an extended middle finger for dislike? It would somehow better fit our personality.
posted by Howard_T at 04:14 PM on October 24, 2012
The problem I see would be for us to "like" the comments for their viewpoint, not for how well written, well researched, humorous, insightful, or appropriate they are. Thus, we would be reduced to a sort of popularity contest among ourselves, each of us bragging about how many "likes" he or she received. I don't really think we need to change or add a thing. Let's try to keep the comments we write about the item posted and not about those who also comment, and we'll be just fine.
posted by Howard_T at 04:25 PM on October 17, 2012
Hal, you and I had a very nice and very civil exchange on the subject of replay in baseball this week. Its the sort of exchange that this site carries so well. Now, I'm pretty passionate on the subject (I dislike the idea), but in a forum such as this it's best to leave the passions at home. I too have teams that I ardently support and teams that I vehemently dislike. I'm often tempted to make a snarky remark in the occasional thread, but I've learned over time to bite my tongue (or since I'm typing, my fingers) and just keep quiet.
I've said before that SpoFi reminds me of a bunch of people in a sports bar who are discussing the latest news in the sports world. Most of us try to contribute something when we know what we are talking about, otherwise we shut up. On many occasions, we will put a little bit of a "yo mama" into a comment, but it is always recognizable for what it is - just a way of having fun with your friends. The guys in the bar all have teams they support or dislike, and when those teams come up in discussion, there is often some passion and borderline insult. This is when the violator of decorum should be hooted down and sent to buy everyone a fresh beer. For those who moderate the site, I say hooted down, not muzzled. Note the offending comment or part thereof, point out why it is offensive, and only if the offender persists in such behavior, send him for a round (that is, a temporary ban - either on the particular thread or on the site in its entirety). Once in a while someone walks into the bar who for whatever reason has nothing to offer except inflammatory, off-topic, and negative comments. This is the time to call the bouncer and remove the offender to the nether reaches of a table next to the men's room.
Free speech comes with the responsibility to adapt such speech to the company present or situation at hand. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' metaphor of "Crying fire in a crowded theater" is applicable, as would be the consequences of calling someone an asshole when his fist is within striking distance of your nose. Many wise men have made reference to the "two ears, one mouth" idea - that one should listen twice as much as speaking. There is also the saying "engage brain before putting mouth in motion". The sorts of caution implied in such sayings should be observed on a site like this, but the idea of patience and understanding should serve equally.
posted by Howard_T at 03:36 PM on September 07, 2012
Just one drone from the mob, but if a comment or part thereof is deleted, could not something be inserted to let the rest of us know that? An announcement that a sentence/paragraph/comment has been deleted due to inappropriate language, commentary not in accordance with site guidelines, or such would remind us that we are being monitored and need to be careful with the keyboard.
I do note there is little visible evidence of editing by the monitors. This tells me that those of us who do contribute are behaving themselves. We do get into some pretty good verbal battles, but the temperature stays down, we are willing to accept other viewpoints, and are more than ready to defend our own. I've been a member of the community for 6 1/2 years, and I've learned a lot about sports, discourse, and good behavior. At my age, courtesy is important, and I congratulate the vast majority of SpoFites for the way they act.
posted by Howard_T at 06:28 PM on September 05, 2012
What would SpoFi be without a Terrapin? Gee, I guess it would be Scully without a Mulder. Sounds like we might have a sane hand with the flag (or the whistle) in it. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go clean up my act.
Stinkin' mascots. They ain't nothin' but trouble. Mumble, grumble...
posted by Howard_T at 05:08 PM on January 20, 2012
I used to subscribe to the Monitor. It wasn't entirely free of religion, if I recall correctly. There was one Christian Science devotional article in each issue.
Correct, but the devotional article was kept separate from the news and opinion sections. Since CSM changed its on-line setup, the devotional articles are scattered throughout the pages, and are quite obvious. If they are in the national or international news sections, they are buried toward the bottom of the pages.
Lots of line breaks disappeared.
Some time ago there was a simple solution to the line break problem, which I have used successfully since. Once you have posted your comment and the line breaks are not there, simply hit the edit selection, and then without doing anything else hit 'save changes'. It has worked every time for me. It is one extra step, but think of how much coding this will save rcade. We wouldn't want to be responsible for his future carpal tunnel syndrome, would we?
posted by Howard_T at 03:39 PM on January 15, 2012
One thing I should have added to my comment above is this: We here in NH have just survived that quadrennial madness called The New Hampshire Primary. I usually read the on-line version of the right-wing Manchester Union Leader, balance that with the left-leaning Nashua Telegraph, and then get the real news and balanced opinion from The Christian Science Monitor, which despite its name does not feature religion in its news or opinion sections. Anytime you begin to despair of the level of invective here in SpoFi, read any of the political articles in the Union Leader, then take a look at the comments. My friends, we are angels in comparison.
posted by Howard_T at 09:56 PM on January 13, 2012
While I have some very strong opinions about politics, I kept my fingers away from the keyboard in the Delonte West post until adding a tongue-in-cheek comment at the end. It was inevitable that this post should have devolved into a political commentary. Let's face it, Presidents are people, and people like to shmooze with famous people. Presidents also use their hosting of teams and athletes as opportunities to place themselves in a favorable light. Is it a good thing for them to do? If you are a conservative Republican like I am, and it is a Democrat president doing it, it's dead wrong and should be stopped. If you are more to the other side of the spectrum, then what the current President does is just fine.
The level of discussion in the United States has become increasingly partisan. To conservatives like me, the center has shifted so far to the left over the past few decades that things have to move back and there is little room for compromise. To those of the liberal stripe, there is still much to be done, and we must move further along that path. I do not wonder that some of the comments in the West thread were quite partisan, and as I said above, it was inevitable. The one thing I have found about SpoFi and its denizens is that heated discussion on a topic seldom leads to members taking permanent offense at another member. We all say things in haste, but somehow SpoFi seems to allow this, and even to forgive it - if that's the word that fits.
My advice to the pantheon would be to leave alone discussions that begin to go badly off topic and away from sports until such time as comments begin to become personal attacks. Then there is justification to terminate the thread, quietly and privately caution the offenders, and live to fight another day. We have some members whose comments are more caustic than others, but I do not believe it is from ill will. I do know that there is not one member who at one time has not told me something interesting or made me smile or steered me to some information I did not know. I liken us to a bunch of people in a sports bar, arguing, discussing, and having fun. Nobody walks out angry, and there are lots of beers bought for each other. This is a site with intelligent people making, for the most part, intelligent comments. Don't change a thing.
posted by Howard_T at 11:31 PM on January 12, 2012
Can we have foreign currency symbols yet?
I'd just like to have some foreign currency to augment my monthly pittance.
posted by Howard_T at 04:13 PM on December 11, 2011
I can't remember how I found SpoFi, but I'm surely glad I did. It's things like jerseygirl has just posted that make this more than a bunch of noise, but a lot like a real community. Congrats, j g. Don't be like the lady in Chicago who decided to run the Chicago Marathon, even though she was 38 weeks and 5 days into her pregnancy. She finished the run (although she walked about half of it) in a bit over 6 hours, finishing ahead of her husband. Then after getting something to eat, she realized something was amiss, headed to the hospital, and delivered her baby. Rather eventful day, what?
posted by Howard_T at 05:04 PM on October 12, 2011
I can be a reactionary dope, an overemotional asshat and a save-the-abortion-rights-of-gay-whales liberal.
Gee, rcade, I knew there was something about you I liked.
Posters, put up what you think is of interest, what you think might entertain, or what you would like to see some comment. I don't think any 2 of us have exactly the same tastes or interests in sports or culture. I read the posts and comments on things that are more scandal related than sports related, but I have been increasingly reluctant to comment unless I can be either funny or insightful. I've been here long enough (5 1/2 years) that many of the stories have become repetitive. How many times have we talked about athletes and performance enhancing drugs, problems in college athletics, racial or homophobic slurs, and the like?
For all that, I would suggest that posters take a look at previous posts, and if it is something that has been extensively argued in the past, then forget about it. Exceptions can be made if the individual or team in question is exhibiting behavior that is well out of the norm. If the subject is performance on the field, then by all means post it. Is that not what we're here to discuss? Of course, the long arguments over one or another subject between 2 or 3 of the members can often be quite entertaining, and I would miss them if they were to disappear. So, posters, don't stop contributing, just be a bit more judicious in your topic selection.
posted by Howard_T at 02:39 PM on September 28, 2011
Welcome back, Folkways. Since I retired I don't have the excuse to do any work at Eglin AFB anymore, so a trip to the Pensacola area is not likely, but just in case, I'll be happy to stand for a few drafts.
posted by Howard_T at 05:07 PM on March 25, 2011
Have you given any thought to doing a thorough proofread in the Live Preview window before hitting Post Comment? Yes, it takes some extra moments, but if you are that strapped for time... If you later discover some additional material that you would want to include in your post, just put in a new post, reference the initial one, and include the new material. Just because you can't change things after a certain time doesn't mean you subsequently can't say what you intended.
posted by Howard_T at 05:24 PM on March 12, 2011
Since I am an old fart whose mobile communications are limited to 'phone calls and text messages (no web use), I would hope that all of the posts/comments made via mobile devices would be available to the on-line version and vice versa. I would not want the community to divide into those who use mobile a lot and those who use it not much.
posted by Howard_T at 10:17 PM on January 06, 2011
Thank you, Toronto. Tyler Seguin #1 of his career today, in alone after a great lob feed from Michael Ryder. Nice deke of the goalie. Mr. Seguin is the real deal.
posted by Howard_T at 01:17 PM on October 10, 2010
Yesterday (Friday), Bruins announced a 3-year extension for Patrice Bergeron. When asked what influenced the move, GM Peter Chiarelli blamed it on Czech beer. Today, Bruins announced a 7-year deal for Chara. My guess is that Chiarelli might have had a bit more of Staropramen's finest lagers than he should have.
posted by Howard_T at 02:21 PM on October 09, 2010
Speaking of youth, Bruins might be carrying 4 rookies on the squad to start the season. Tyler Seguin and Jordan Caron appear to have made the team, along with Brad Marchand and and Adam McQuaid also qualify as rookies, although they played in 20 and 19 games, respectively, last season. Seguin will skate the center position, aince the Bruins are down a man here with Savard still suffering from post-concussion syndrome. Marchand and Caron will likely split duty initially, but both may wind up on a wing before too long. McQuaid might find himself on the I-95 shuttle between Providence and Boston, but for now he's tabbed for blue line duty with the big club.
I'm really looking forward to this year, since I have the NHL Network and Versus as part of the DirecTV package, and the Bruins will be all over NESN. By the way, Weedy, remind me to say "thank you" for every Seguin goal and assist, and you may say the same for every Phil Kessel point.
posted by Howard_T at 05:07 PM on October 08, 2010
What's a phone booth ?
It's a changing room for Clark Kent.
posted by Howard_T at 08:52 PM on June 24, 2010
Because I post so often, I wrote a script that deletes my front-page posts that get no comments after 18 hours.
For those of my age it would go: Peter Graves opens laptop he finds concealed in a 'phone booth. Clicks on Sports Filter and sees post from rcade. Reads post as voice-over gives details. Declines to comment, and voice-over says, "This post will self-destruct in 18 hours." Post (and laptop) disappear in a cloud of smoke.
posted by Howard_T at 06:33 PM on June 24, 2010
I'm all for the Locker Room. Well, at least most of me is for the Locker Room. Some of me is for world peace, free beer at baseball games, institution of National Love an Umpire Day, and a Pulitzer Prize for Sports Filter.
posted by Howard_T at 04:06 PM on May 19, 2010
It may also interest you to know that I am entirely made of wood.
Oh, look! His nose is growing as we watch!
posted by Howard_T at 02:12 PM on April 19, 2010
So how long is 8 in dog SpoFi years? I've been here for almost half that time, and I've thoroughly enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.
posted by Howard_T at 05:01 PM on January 25, 2010
My wife lost her brother to a brain tumor several years ago. In his case, they were just a bit too late. Our prayers will be with Matt.
posted by Howard_T at 04:35 PM on November 16, 2009
The scuttlebutt in the Boston papers is that Kessel is looking for about $4.5M per year. Since he is a restricted free agent, Boston would have the right to match, but probably won't. If Toronto makes him that level of offer, they would give up a #1, 2, and 3 pick in the next draft. That might explain the swap with the Blackhawks, since Toronto didn't have one of the required picks (I don't recall whether it was the 2 or the 3). Note that if the offer is in the $6M range, the compensation turns into 3 (I think) #1s. It may all be moot, because Peter Chiarelli, Bruins GM, is said to be trying to move him out of the conference for a roster player and picks.
I don't think I ever played in the puckathon, but since retirement, I have the time to carefully make my picks and blow all of you out of the water.
posted by Howard_T at 06:52 PM on September 07, 2009
Pretty much what skydivedad says, but put Toronto ahead of both Ottawa and Montreal in the Northeast, and exchange the positions of Pittsburgh and Rangers in the Atlantic. There are a number of question marks with Boston going into this season, particularly on defense. Ference and Hunwick will be coming back from injury, but both will probably be OK. Chara, for all his skills, sometimes has a problem moving the puck in the defensive zone. Adding Derek Morris alongside him could be of material help. Up front Bruins will be pretty close to what they were last year. About the only major change is the addition of Steve Begin from Montreal, who will take over the hard-nose 4th line center duties in lieu of Stephan Yelle. Here also there are some returns from injury, notably David Krecji and Marco Sturm. The biggest question is the fate of Phil Kessel, whose salary demands would put Boston in cap trouble. Kessel too is returning from an injury that will keep him out of action until December at the earliest. If he is traded or remains unsigned, you might have a problem replacing 30 goals. There is some feeling, though not publicly stated, that Kessel is not the best of 2-way players and tends to have few friends in the locker room. Stay tuned on this one, as there might be some trade action here.
I was going to say that the reason I cited skydivedad's picks was because I was too lazy to type a whole list. Well, I've just about blown that excuse. I'll conclude by saying that Boston will make it to the Stanley Cup finals, but only after an emotional and bitter 7-game series with Washington, with the 7th game being decided by a "homer" call against the Caps that results in a Boston power play goal. They will face a surprising Vancouver team, and despite Milan Lucic shining in the games in his hometown, will fall in 6.
posted by Howard_T at 03:29 PM on September 05, 2009
As far as I can see, it's working out just fine. It gives us a place to drop the random, less significant tidbit of news that really is not important enough to make a FPP. What I've looked at in the past 2 days are a number of things in which I have little interest, but more importantly, a few things in which I am quite interested. Maybe it's not for everyone, but it is certainly a hit with me.
posted by Howard_T at 03:10 PM on September 03, 2009
He drives me crazy.
In our case, yerfatma, it won't take a full tank of gas.
posted by Howard_T at 03:28 PM on September 02, 2009
rcade, you genius, you've done it again. Thanks for allowing me to remove all the sticky notes with comment counts from my monitor. Now I can actually see the screen and read the posts.
posted by Howard_T at 05:26 PM on July 02, 2009
Bo, didn't your dad tell you to stop that before you went blind?
posted by Howard_T at 05:54 PM on May 20, 2009
That thread is a classic. I love it.
And it only drew 4 comments. Man is that bush league.
posted by Howard_T at 03:43 PM on April 03, 2009
I updated my profile, and while the changes took, I was unable to verify my new e-mail address. The problem was mine; my mail provider dumped the message into my 'spam' folder instead of my inbox. All is OK now.
Was Yahoo trying to tell me something?
posted by Howard_T at 03:41 PM on February 05, 2009
YESSSS!!!
This just in. rcade has been voted the busted keyboard award for the best site fix of the year. The award comes with no monetary compensation, just the appreciation of a whole lot of SpoFites. Thanks for all your effort, rcade.
posted by Howard_T at 12:42 PM on January 09, 2009
Here's my list for my favorite Boston-based teams:
Celtics: Stop trying to rest your starters. Resolve to win every game. Bruins: Please don't let your terrific first half effort be an anomaly. Resolve to play hard on every shift. Red Sox: Stay with the plan, and build the best team you can while staying within your financial guidelines. While you're at it, try to convince the politicians that Fenway Park should be turned into a monument, and a large new stadium be built in the city. Patriots: Never, ever let Bill Belichick retire. Clone him if it should become necessary. Revolution (MLS) and Cannons (Lacrosse): Try to get more than a few thousand fans who even know you exist.
posted by Howard_T at 02:07 PM on January 01, 2009
I thought this would go to the Locker Room, where it belongs, but somehow it wound up as an FPP. Can someone in the Pantheon put it where it belongs? By the way that's New Hampshire, not Hew Hampshire (stupid fingers).
posted by Howard_T at 12:53 PM on December 31, 2008
bst, my kid's a sophomore there, so I'm kind of stuck with it. I'm not too sure I'd sell them short against USC, though.
posted by Howard_T at 09:04 PM on December 12, 2008
This could be fun (or a disaster for me), Bo. Thanks for setting it up.
WE ARE-------PENN STATE!!!!!!
posted by Howard_T at 04:54 PM on December 11, 2008
Don't comment! It only makes the altruists happy.
John Galt.
posted by Howard_T at 11:33 AM on December 06, 2008
Thanks, Monica, and the same to all SpoFites. Hater187, you have taste to keep the Yuengling on hand. Here in NH, ours was good. We took in the local HS football game, then I came home, made 2 pies, and fixed a roast chicken (turkey goes to waste, and we aren't big on it, anyway). Our son has been home from Penn State all week, working on me to give him the frequent flier miles to go to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. I think I'm most thankful to have the family together.
posted by Howard_T at 02:36 PM on November 28, 2008
No offense taken at the post; as a matter of fact, I enjoyed the read. I was really afraid that this would spark a firestorm of argument over the politics of the thing, but I see the cooler heads have prevailed, and my fears are groundless. I guess that as long as you didn't wind uo in the soprano section of the church choir, all is OK.
I once saw a photo of a sign that read, in effect:
CONNECTICUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD USE REAR ENTRANCE
posted by Howard_T at 04:59 PM on October 27, 2008
NoMich, while I have the greatest admiration for rcade and his untiring efforts to keep SpoFi going, I believe that the account of his trial by pointy hemostat should not be posted here. Neither vasectomies nor political viewpoints have anything to do with sport. I respect rcade's right to his opinions on politics and surgery, I feel that linking to them from SpoFi only invites the most virulent and inflammatory types of discussion.
I ask that in light of the post's absence of any sports related content, that it be removed from the site.
posted by Howard_T at 06:12 PM on October 26, 2008
I like the idea of numbering the comments. Doing this, along with restoring the unread comments feature, would greatly improve readability.
I checked out the ad for the "RealAge" test and found out that I was really 3 years old. I didn't believe it, so I had a temper tantrum.
If those are sugar-free chocolate chunk brownies, I'll take a dozen, please.
posted by Howard_T at 09:55 AM on October 08, 2008
I'm strictly a "homer". I support Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and (reluctantly) Bruins. In college football, it's Penn State because that's where my son is going. Other than that, I support my alma mater, Northeastern, and if any of the local schools get into regional or national playoffs, I'll pay attention to them. I'm Boston-born, and except for my years overseas and traveling around the "States, I've lived in New England. There's something in the water around here that makes this happen.
posted by Howard_T at 03:22 PM on August 22, 2008
I have a pickup truck that ought to hold enough 5 1/4-inch floppies to carry all your data. Let me know if you need me. What? You have moved to something other than 5 1/4s? Maybe it's time for me to upgrade from my Radio Shack 8088 machine.
posted by Howard_T at 02:36 PM on August 02, 2008
I just looked through the synopses of the films being screened. It's quite a wide-ranging selection, and it looks like it will be a real treat for the sports buffs and film fans both. Wish I could make it up there.
posted by Howard_T at 09:17 AM on May 13, 2008
O crap I fail d quiz so I hav 2 quit. U r rite lbb. we cant spel 2 gud so we shut up. OK, I really agree with you. It does make it a lot easier to read a comment when it is written with some idea of how to compose an English sentence. It is also a lot easier to understand a commenter's point, in order to agree with it or make an argument against it. This said, we are not all competent writers. I'm old enough to have been painfully taught how to construct sentences (remember diagramming them?), and I've also taken a couple of courses in technical writing. I say that we need to cut some of the poorer writers among our newbs a little slack. If they are not blathering, flaming others, or otherwise causing pain to our eyes, then gently correct them IN PRIVATE via their e-mail. If they are causing offense through their language or flaming, then cut them off (temporarily) from the discussion and let them know why. One of the things I was always taught was to praise publicly but criticize privately.
posted by Howard_T at 02:47 PM on May 02, 2008
...so all that stuff kind of passes through me... Could it be a food allergy, chico?
posted by Howard_T at 01:21 PM on April 16, 2008
Except for a couple of days last week, I've been in the Nevada desert on test since the end of March. It's a slow dial-up connection here, and coupled with several 14-hour days, have kept me from posting (but not commenting). We finished up our program today, and we'll finish packing up tomorrow. I'll be back in glorious high-speed country by tomorrow night.
posted by Howard_T at 11:12 PM on April 13, 2008
...and I'm Jesse James. Post it, dfleming, or I'll rob your bank. This James thing is beginning to sound like the Johnsons in Blazing Saddles.)
posted by Howard_T at 05:40 PM on April 08, 2008
Seriously? Ann Murray's still alive? Huh. She is indeed. Actually, Anne's 4 years younger than I. As she remarked during the concert, when speaking of the rigors of the tour, "We'll see if the old broad has anything left." Those of us who are of that age enjoyed her music. She can still belt out a tune (and her 29-year-old daughter does pretty well as both a singer and songwriter too), and displays a lot of energy. Lowell, MA, was the last stop on the tour, so if you want to see her this summer, you'd best get yourself up to what the Nez Perce called "The Land of the Grandmother".
posted by Howard_T at 12:31 PM on March 22, 2008
What concert? It was Ann Murray. For all those in upper NH (otherwise known as Canada), it should be an excusable offense. At least my wife enjoyed it, and I can still enter the house when she's home.
posted by Howard_T at 05:20 PM on March 21, 2008
Up until this year, there was no question of who the better pick of Pierce vs Nowitzki was. With the arrival of KG and Ray Allen, who by their presence draw some of the defenders away from Pierce, and with the blossoming of Rondo and Perkins into real threats, Pierce has changed his game. No longer is he the "designated scorer". He is now able to draw the defenses to him, leaving the rest of the cast to get open for easy scores. Dirk is a great one, but this year's Pierce shows his greatness as well. I'd love to be with you guys tonight, but my wife is dragging me off to a concert. In the interests of domestic bliss, I don't want even to think about begging off.
posted by Howard_T at 12:39 PM on March 20, 2008
The pix are great, jerseygirl. Since I usually have a 4-footed assistant when I'm responding from home, they gained approval from all who saw them. One of them (Kudos on the posts) looks a lot like our eldest cat.
posted by Howard_T at 11:39 AM on March 18, 2008
I think Howard found it whimsical rather than offensive. I was being neither whimsical nor serious, just making an observation and trying to put a catchy title to it. Actually, I had noticed that the general tone of both sides rather closely paralleled the comments of the SpoFi thread. It's almost as if the USA Today writers had read our comments, then summarized them into the editorials. It just goes to illustrate that our very own SpoFites are every bit as perceptive as the mass media. I was also going to add that we are as accurate too, but that would be an insult to SpoFi. We're generally more accurate with some of our commentary. Weedy, can you get us a package deal on torches to go along wit the pitchforks?
posted by Howard_T at 03:53 PM on March 08, 2008
TBH, you know better than to spell out that name in its entirety. Lock your doors and windows tightly for the next few weeks. I won't mess with anyone associated with Mr. G.M.
posted by Howard_T at 08:26 AM on March 07, 2008
...use the more delicate and precise tools available to them. Their intellect. Their good humour... Home Depot and Lowes don't carry these tools. The guy in the local hardware store said they used to carry intellect, but since nobody ever bought any, they discontinued it. When I asked about good humour, he questioned my accent, then he told me to wait for summer when the ice cream truck comes around.
posted by Howard_T at 10:00 PM on March 06, 2008
I'm sure this is inspired by the latest Patriots and Red Sox threads (although the Steinbrenner thread did not start out originally as a commentary on the Red Sox). I believe we had a few rather emotional threads about the Yankees as well. The point is that threads about successful teams are going to bring forth those who are in some way envious of that success, and feel compelled to justify that envy by putting out the usually venomous comments. Let me take your points in order, justgary. First, the "I hate the topic" comment should never be allowed. Period! Can the Pantheon just chop these without a second thought? I was always taught that if you had nothing good to say, then remain silent. On some topics, my silence is deafeneing because I have strong negatives about the topic. On others, I have llittle knowledge of what is being discussed, so I go with the philosophy that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Your point about Patriots threads (and now Red Sox/Yankees) is well taken. Because the teams are located in the northeast, with large media outlets nearby, they do seem to get more attention than other teams. I agree (sometimes) with those who feel that ESPN is a house media outlet for all things Boston and New York. But if you have watched ESPN and others over a period of years, you will notice that their coverage goes to the front-runners. Of course, fans in San Francisco want to hear about the 49ers or the Giants (for example), but when those teams aren't piling up the wins, ESPN would rather cover the "hot" stories. Thus the envy factor that I wrote about in my first paragraph. How to cure it? Maybe those of us who are fans of the teams that draw the ire of others should just refuse to rise to the bait. When the "I hate the Patriots" comments appear, ignore them. Post your own take on the article and move on. If the rebuttals begin to get personal, I think the Pantheon will be able to see that and delete the comments. Posting links (and comments) that are off-topic just to get a in a dig falls into the same category as a personal "diss". It just shouldn't be tolerated. One other "sin" that all of us are prone to do is to post an inane comment or link that may or may not have anything to do with what is being discussed. I can't say this is all bad, because some of our funniest threads have degenerated into this sort of thing. The SpoFi community is very much like a bunch of friends sitting in a bar watching the TV and talking about sports as the topics come up. There will always be disagreements, but mostly they are mild and handled by buying another round of beers. Once in a while, the guy three tables away comes into the conversation with something that some don't really want to hear. When you're face to face, that can lead to some unwanted consequences, so for the most part, you ignore it. If the guy is obnoxious enough, maybe the bartender will ask him to leave. I see the Pantheon in the role of the bartender, but the rest of us need to think carefully in our original comments, and think doubly carefully if we reply to a comment. I obviously have a touch of diarrhea of the keyboard today, so I've gone on far too long. My apologies to you, but I had to get it off my chest.
posted by Howard_T at 04:31 PM on March 04, 2008
I think it has something to do with the contents of the bottle they pass to the driver through the window during pit stops. The higher the proof, the more they weave back and forth. (Nawww!! cabuki got it right).
posted by Howard_T at 03:36 PM on March 03, 2008
Just dropping in to say hi
maybe we could start something like those rescues that truck dogs from the South
Sounds like a great idea, but then we would need to find nice families to adopt them. Then again, if NoMich can beg for treats, bark when intruders come around, and roll over and play dead, perhaps there's hope for him.
No Kill shelter laws
Horrors!!! Do they actually euthanize homeless SpoFites in some places?