Aggie87

Here is a link to some of the pre-existing Braith threads.

Aggie87 recommends that Aloc use the search function. There's an existing scotch thread, that Aloc is even the most recent poster in.

Happy Birthday Mike!!

I think I like my South Park character better! This guy looks like a stalker.

Stefano Bollani - Piano Solo Enrico Rava - The Words and the Days Til Bronner - Oceana (is this guy worth checking out? don't think I know anything about him) Flora Purim - Flora's Song

Never mind - it was a good try though! Order date: 08/11/2007 04:23PM EDT Status: Cancelled You order is expected to ship by August 13, 2007.

Will be interesting to see if they honor the orders that got through. Was the Sly Stone on sale as well?

Picked up some popcorn movies at Best Buy this evening: King Kong Deluxe 3 disc edition The Mummy Collector's set (Mummy, Mummy Returns, and Scorpion King) Riddick Trilogy Each was marked at $9.99. I don't think I would have bought any of them at full price, but figured that wasn't a bad deal.

Yeah, what he said! Ordered all four boxes for less than $10 shipped.

I've been assuming this will come out as a metal spine version, but it's nice to see that confirmed at MusicTap...

If built correctly, the mudslide should have no affect on a house's foundation. My house is built on a hillside (though not with those frightening pillars - they scare even me!) but it's built on concrete pilings that go down 40 feet into the bedrock. It's rock and not "mud," of course, but even if the hillside that our house was built on were to wash away, the house would still be standing on its foundation supports. Exactly what happened to my old house...before it burned in the Oakland Hills fire. having a home burn, losing a spouse or child, or a divorce. how on earth does one survive such and continue living? Is your question serious? Do you really consider those things equal? I'm divorced, as are other board members, and have survived and continued living. I don't consider that anywhere close to the same thing as losing a child or spouse. Losing a child or your spouse must be about the hardest thing anyone could go through. A divorce is definitely traumatic and life altering, but I still don't think it's the same.

That blog is too good to let it pass with just a link. Gonna paste the 8 August portion: August 08, 2007WHAT PART OF CHEATING DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? Barry Bonds. Emptying out my brain on the topic: 1. Two of the more symbolic moments of the Barry Bonds 756 chase occurred in the scrums of fans fighting for the home runs Bonds hit on Saturday in San Diego and on Tuesday in San Francisco. If you watch the replay, after Adam Hughes came up with 755, he is seen hoisting the ball in his right hand as he is led away by Padres security. Then, suddenly, some dude in a camouflage Padres jersey makes a desperate--and unsuccessful-- snatch for the ball that Hughes is clutching. Last night at AT&T Park, Matt Murphy came up with Bonds' record-breaking homer (Adam Hughes. Matt Murphy. America's sportswriters can only say, "Thank you for having such easy names. Not like that dude who collared A-Rod's 500th."). Before we even realized who had the ball, as we watched the scrum on TV, we saw a big dude in an orange jersey work his way through the mob and then suddenly toss himself on top of the pile. He was nowhere near the ball but he decided that he'd do his best to wrest the ball from whatever fan already had it. To me, those two unidentified would-be ball thieves exemplified not only what Bonds has "accomplished" in terms of the home run mark, but also, and I'm going to get sociological on you here, why Bonds' 756 is such a polarizing number today. There's a large faction of society that believes that it's now how you get there, it's that you get there. If you need to cheat to win a race (Ben Johnson) or sully some other candidate's reputation in order to get elected, or lip-synch your appearance on Saturday Night Live to sell your records, do it. Then there's the other faction, among which more than a few overly idealistic--some might say overly judgmental-- journalists and parents and killjoys and probably Sheriff Andy Taylor and Richie Cunningham belong to. This is the group that believes that what truly matters is that it's how you get there. Greg Brady could have been Johnny Bravo, sure, but he didn't want to be famous just because he "fit the suit". He wanted to be famous because his music mattered. Or, for a better and relatively more recent example, watch School Ties . Matt Damon's character is the former type, and Brendan Fraser's is the latter. What it all comes down to is character. There's a reason that one of the only--if not the only--unifying aspects of this entire chase is Hank Aaron. Because, as anyone can see, Aaron never sacrificed his honor or integrity to achieve what he has. Barry Bonds and Bud Selig cannot say as much. 2. Bob Costas, appearing on Mike and Mike this morning, applied the equivalent of a logic smackdown to guest host Rob Parker. A columnist with the Detroit Free Press , Parker clearly positioned himself on the former side, saying basically, "It's 756 home runs, I don't care how he got there." Costas, meanwhile--and this is absolutely no surprise-- was articulate, insightful and dead-on. Parker posited that since baseball, in terms of attendance, is more popular than ever, then why does a fan such as Costas have any problem with what's happened in the past decade or so in regard to steroids. Costas fired back that baseball was immensely popular before blacks (and Parker is black) were allowed to play and it was immensely popular before Curt Flood took his stand for free agency, but that does not mean that the game was not flawed in those eras. "Reasonable people," Costas said, "can separate the two." Parker remained on the offensive, asking Costas how come so many people vilify Bonds as if he's the only player who ever took steroids. Costas, on the phone and clearly stupefied that Parker was receiving such a national forum to air such childish arguments, retortred, "I hope you're not including me among those who would hold such a simple-minded view." Costas then proceeded, in as polite a way as possible, to deliver a useful analogy. He said that if the President of the United States broke the same law as a congressman, well, wouldn't we expect that the president's transgression would receive more attention because, after all, he's the prez? The chasm between the wisdom and ability to reason of those who appear on TV and those who watch TV gets narrower each passing day. Especially in regard to ESPN, which seems to have an insatiable appetite to put new faces behind a desk. Some people just belong on TV, either because they look good (Erin Andrews, Kirk Herbstreit) or because their words flow with reason and insight(Costas, Kirk Herbstreit). Listening to Costas on ESPN2 this morning, it was evident what a vacuum exists in sports television of men or women who are not afraid to be contrarian and bright. Costas himself--and this was beautiful--called out players "and ex-players who are now holding microphones" (were your ears burning, Rick Sutcliffe and John Kruk?) for the craven position they have taken during the Bonds chase. I don't have Costas' words in front of me verbatim, but in essence he said that you cannot state that 1) Bonds likely used performance enhancing drugs but 2) he's still the greatest player of all time, as if those are mutually exclusive assertions. If you believe No. 1, Costas said, then how can you grant No. 2? Amen. It's not that Bonds is not a superlative ballplayer, one of the top "half dozen", as Costas asserted, who ever played the game. But if you buy the overwhelming evidence that between 1999 and say, 2004, Bonds was juicing, then you either say it's okay to cheat and call him the best player who ever lived or that it's not okay to cheat and then you cannot just grant him the tremendous offensive stats he posted from '99 on. It's like this. You're one of the smartest students in your class. Definitely top 5%. Then you get the answers to the final exam, use them, and get the highest grade on that test. You cheated. Should your test score be wiped out? Or does the professor recognize you as the best student in the class because, even if you did cheat, you already were one of the smartest students anyway? 3. Can Pedro Gomez go home now? 4. Bud Selig does not understand leadership. Not in the least bit. As J.A. Adande said on "Around The Horn" this evening, Selig should have either had the courage of his convictions and said that he did not recognize Bonds' home run record because it's tainted by steroids, or he should have just congratulated Bonds succinctly and with class, as Aaron did. 5. Two arguments that Bonds and his apologists often use that, were I Mitt Romney, I'd tell you that "I'm sick and tired" of hearing them: A. "Steroids can't help you hit a baseball." No duh. But, if you already have the talent to hit a 96 m.p.h. fastball or an 88 m.p.h. slider, steroids will help you hit a baseball farther. And, they will help you see better, which is invaluable when you're standing at the plate. B. "If you're going to indict Barry Bonds, why don't you go after everyone else who used steroids?" Would love to. It was cheating, even if baseball did not have a specific rule against it for so long (and this, Mr. Selig, is why you will not be standing on the right side of this issue when history records this era). I'd love to examine how Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs in 1996--more than double the number he hit in any other season of his career-- or the entire lineup of the '98 Texas Rangers or the '01 Oakland A's. But, as Costas said, Bonds became the symbol of the era, the "Sultan of Syringe" as one New York tabloid put it today, because he took down baseball's greatest individual career record with the help of steroids. 6. More than a few media members noted, fondly, that Bonds showed a very human side of himself last night. That he was, almost for the first time, likeable. And that's true. He was. But who isn't at their best in a moment when so much glory is coming your way? It's how you treat people on a Tuesday in Milwaukee that is a better indicator of your personality. Parker, on Mike and Mike , brought forth the old argument that sportswriters have it out for Bonds because he is not nice to them. I disagree. I feel that the same hubris that Bonds has shown toward the media is what made him think that he could use steroids with impunity. He put himself above others, and then he put himself above the game. Nor did steroids "affect" Bonds' personality. In May of 1993 Richard Hoffer of Sports Illustrated went out to San Francisco to do a feature story on Bonds, then in his first season with the Giants. Hoffer waited eight days before Bonds would finally sit down with him for a few minutes--and probably thought to himself, Thank God he doesn't play in Pittsburgh any more. Bonds' blowing off of Hoffer actually became a source of clubhouse hilarity. The other Giants kept track of how many days Hoffer was being held hostage and it was probably only a matter of time before Ted Koppel did so, too. 7. The numbers just don't matter any more. There was a time, before performance-enhancing drugs, before East Germans who looked like cyborgs, before Ben Johnson, before Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire--and after Greg Lemond--when we cared about records. In track and field. In baseball. In the Tour de France. Now? Do you know what the world record time in the mile is? Or in the 100 meters? Or who even holds those records? Steroids have made many records negligible. Impure. Unworthy of our faith in them. I know for certain, as someone who was allowed to stay up just long enough to see Hank Aaron blast 715 when I was seven years old, that Bonds' 756th will not have the aura to it that Aaron's did. It can't. 8. Those hugs Bonds' teammates gave him after 756 last night? For the most part, they were perfunctory. No one denies that he is a magnificent ballplayer. You cannot take that away from him. But Barry Bonds has diminished his own legacy more than any sportswriter ever could. It's funny. You cannot cut corners when you hit a home run. You may have blasted a ball 435 feet to dead center, but you still have to touch first, second and third base before you can claim your reward. You cannot cut the corners of the diamond. In life, though, you can. All too easily.

Is this done in the bed? You've got your chinese arts mixed up. That one's fu-king.

...nice! to the cheater! m Your proof? Why is this concept so hard to grasp for you guys, anyway? How about the leaked grand jury testimony? Whether it was illegally leaked or not, it's damning. That's pretty solid evidence.

Would you have the man-love you have for Bonds had he played his whole career in Minnesota? Or would you be like the majority of the U.S. population who believes he took steroids - whether it was illegal or not, it would still be violating the spirit of sportsmanship? I think everyone else on this board sees you as a homer who's blind to Bonds' fatal flaw, merely because you live where you live and support the Giants.

2000+ more votes have occurred since I posted that, 20 minutes ago. Basically the same results though. I agree it's not scientific, and some people are probably voting more than once. But I also think it's probably pretty representative, as well.

Current poll on espn.com 1) Did you want Barry Bonds to break the record? 58.8% No 41.2% Yes 2) What is your general opinion of Bonds? 47.0% Dislike him 26.8% Like him 26.2% Neither 3) Who was the greater player? 57.8% Hank Aaron 42.2% Barry Bonds 4) What would you have done if you caught the ball? 73.5% Sold it 8.6% Given it to Bonds 7.6% Kept it as a memento 6.0% Destroyed it 4.2% Thrown it back 5) How would you have reacted were you in the stadium when Bonds hit #756? 51.6% Cheered 28.5% Booed 19.9% No reaction 6) Who do you consider the all-time home run king? 50.2% Hank Aaron 40.8% Barry Bonds 6.5% Sadaharu Oh 2.5% Josh Gibson 7) Do you believe Barry Bonds used steroids during his career? 88.0% Yes 12.0% No 8) Which player is most likely to break Bonds' record? 73.8% Alex Rodriguez 12.2% None of the above 5.1% Albert Pujols 3.7% Manny Ramirez 3.7% Ryan Howard 0.6% David Ortiz 0.3% Miguel Cabrera 0.3% Andruw Jones 0.2% Adam Dunn Total Votes: 38,772

You have Oakland. So maybe there's hope for a 2-3 win season

same thing as 9 x 9 x 9.

4(-2)² + 8(-2) + 3(-2) + 6 = 16 - 16 - 6 + 6 = 0 (1/3)(9)³ = 1/3 (729) = 243 -11(3/2)(.12(-12)) = -11 (1.5)(-1.44) = 23.76 30 + (.0825 x 30) + (15% x 30) = 30 + 2.475 + 4.5 = 36.975 598% / 26% = 23 4/5 + 3/4 = 16/20 + 15/20 = 31/20 = 1.55

Updated info:

Sham? Maybe. Shame? Definitely Bonds holds the home run record, but he's no hero by John Donovan, SI.com SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds had just unloosed a wickedly hard swing Tuesday night, the ball already lining its way deep toward the stands in right-center field and into its place in baseball history, when he dropped his bat, thrust both fists into the cool night air and stood, tall and unmoving, for all the world to see. Immediately, we all were forced to deal with a question that we've been wrestling with for years. What do you think of Barry Bonds now? What do you think of the new home run king? After years of streaking toward this moment, more rapidly in the past few seasons than anyone had thought humanly possible, Bonds finally arrived on the summit he had so desperately sought with his typical bang and bravado. The Giants' controversial slugger crushed a fifth-inning, full-count fastball from the Nationals' Mike Bascik to the deepest recesses of AT&T Park, a superhuman 435 feet away, to supplant Hank Aaron at the top of Major League Baseball's list for most home runs in a career. The San Francisco fans, so loyal and forgiving, went wacko when No. 756 pierced through the night. Fireworks popped over McCovey Cove as Bonds made his accustomed slow trek around the bases. He touched home plate, the record now all his, thrust his gloved fists again skyward and held them there as his 17-year-old son, Nikolai, embraced him. Bonds then waded slowly into a subdued group of teammates, bowed and blew kisses to the crowd, greeted his family, hugged godfather and Giants great Willie Mays and thanked the fans at AT&T Park in a brief on-field ceremony. A few minutes later, after one last nod to the fans in left field, Giants manager Bruce Bochy pulled Bonds from the game. And now, we are left to reflect on the man, the moment and the significance of it all. Bonds has millions of fans, as his selection to this year's All-Star game indicates. His supporters are vocal and relentless. But there are millions of fans today, too, that are completely, radically disgusted at baseball and at the idea of Bonds, of all people, holding this important record. They call him a cheat. They call him a disgrace. They call this whole thing a sham. Think about that and what that means. Even if Bonds' record is not a sham -- and an overwhelming body of evidence points to the fact that's exactly what it is -- Bonds as home run king is, without any doubt, a shame. The most magical number in baseball, the most recognized record in sport, now belongs to a 43-year-old man who has broadly split the baseball-loving public. "If they feel that way, I feel for them," Bochy said of the Bonds' critics. "I feel this is a time to celebrate. I would hope that everybody that loves this game and has a passion for it would celebrate. I think it's time to move on." We can argue -- baseball fans have been at it for years -- the relative merits of the performance-enhancing drug charges that Bonds has been sidestepping for years. The tirelessly reported and researched book Game of Shadows paints a picture of a man obsessed with getting the same kind of attention and adulation that former slugger Mark McGwire received during the great home run chase of 1998, and one who went chemical to achieve it. It's almost impossible to read that book, written by two investigative reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle, and come away with the impression that Bonds wasn't into a lot that he shouldn't have been into. But even giving Bonds every benefit of the doubt, the new record-holder has been way less than we expect of our best, way less than what we should get. Record holder? Absolutely. Hero? Not in a million years. At best, Bonds has made a lot of stupid, arrogant choices, associated himself with exactly the wrong type of people, played stupid when it served him best -- c'mon, Barry, flaxseed oil? -- and shown no regret for any of his actions. At best, as comedian Chris Rock told Bob Costas recently, Bonds has pulled a fast one. At worst, Bonds has blatantly worked around and above the game's current drug policy and ignored the spirit and intent of baseball's rules against performance-enhancing drugs when they weren't enforceable. At worst, he took the drugs even though he knew he shouldn't, tried to hide that fact and cheated his way to this record. The best is not good. The worst is reprehensible. Is this the man that baseball fans want holding the most glamorous record in sports? A surly, sometimes outright mean cuss of a player who also has been, at times, hated by his teammates, at odds with the players' union, nasty and condescending to fans and a disaster as a family man? "This record is not tainted at all. At all," a defiant Bonds said in a postgame press conference. "You guys can say whatever you want." There's no choice now, of course, when it comes to recognizing the new record holder. Bonds has a grand jury holding a possible indictment for perjury over his head. His former trainer and overly loyal friend, Greg Anderson, convicted of steroids distribution and money laundering, sits in a prison cell for refusing to testify about Bonds before the grand jury. Yet when the record books come out next year, Bonds' name will be atop the list, scot-free and asterisk-free. Shortly after he was pulled from Tuesday's game, to another loud ovation from the crowd of more than 43,000, Bonds was caught by television cameras on the bench in the Giants' dugout. Most of his teammates were in the field or standing against the rail next to the field. Bonds sat, with no one near him on either side, staring blankly into space. It was a poignant scene and completely fitting for the moment. The new home run king, on top of his world, all alone with his thoughts.

Not sure if I'm too excited with the EP since I have yet to get on board about FOABP -- just not doing it for me. Of course, I'll buy it though. Aggie: If PT makes it to the Northwest, I'll be there somehow. I'm curious about this material. If it didn't fit with the stuff on Fear, it could be either really good (but in a different vein) or it could be more of the same, but just stuff that SW didn't think was as good as what is on Fear. I'm hopeful for the first. I still go back and forth with Fear. In fact, I still gravitate towards the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun/Recordings material over what's come afterwards. Of the three Atlantic releases, I think Deadwing edges out the others.

Not by a long shot. Being a record holder and being the best are not one and the same. Bonds doesn't even hold the world record for home runs anyway. He's just the U.S. record holder, for the time being. edit - Another thing - Aaron (and Sadaharu Oh, based on my personal observation) were more rounded ball players. Bonds USED to be more well rounded (or 5 tooled or whatever you call it). For the past 5+ years (same time frame that he grew abnormally), all he's been about is trying to hit home runs. That's not a team baseball player, that's just a guy with one sole purpose. That takes away some of the appreciation I have for him as well, regardless of whether he juiced or not.