UConn James

So you're saying that the Mars Rovers, Hubble, Voyager, etc. are less efficient than sending a small group of people to float around, eat liquid balls of applesauce and bring Tang to the ISS? I'm impressed by what NASA itself has done and contributed to our society w/ technological innovation. But most manned missions' purposes at this point in time are moot. You're suggesting that we continue send people into space just to show our bravado and that we can do it for the 115th time, too?

A third of their waking day spent looking at their craft, and even then they won't be able to say anything more than, "We think everything should be OK." This is like taking a trip across country and leaning out the door every half hour to make sure the tires are still inflated. Newsflash: Reaching speeds at launch that generate ~ 5 Gs will make some debris fall off. We learn far more and get more done on unmanned missions while there's zero risk of fatalities; 'course 12 people at NASA don't get to see their friends toss around M&Ms in zero grazity.

And I heard this afternoon from the spokesman's mouth that it's not fine. Must have hired John Kerry.

How does one rehab one's toe? That mini-treadmill in those low-carb Bud Light commercials?

Making this move actually doesn't scare hell out of me. Just gets JP and Duke on the same page from the start of each other's career. I'm willing to endure the growing pains of half or a full season so that I-know-exactly-what-he's-thinking relationship can develop. Get it out of the way this season, then we won't be having this same argument next year when Teague is likely gone. Then again, look how many rookie centers have come in and started right away and not lost a step.

I seem to remember a couple of years back that he was upset and was talking about retirement when Belichick was going to reduce his role.... Looking at his stats, tho, it looks like he turned in a solid performance to win his job back. Always respected him. He was a Phil Hansen-type player. Patsies will miss him and Bruschi.

In related news, after this confirmation of their date that night, Crumpler had to begin his Valtrex regimen. Ron Mexico = NFL's Patient Zero.

Sometimes rookies, especially later round picks, sign a pretty standard contract (ala, last year's slot plus # percent or so) soon after they arrive in town. Not much to worry about at this moment.

Unless there's information about JP secretly having MS or something, this is nothing new from what everyone has written about ad nauseum, based on groundless assumptions. Only difference is that 'Insider' members pay for it.

Wup, hold on there. Johnnie's busy rotting in hell.

More importantly, are they going to have the bimbo swinging in the tree saying, "Cooooooooooooome annnnn' git it!!"?

He declared for the supplemental draft b/c he became academically ineligible, iirc. Now, in a program like that, they really pull all the strings they can and put him in cakewalk classes. Flunking out as an athlete takes something like PlayStation 24/7.

I understand the loyalty issue boomer is raising, but someone who's loyal in return doesn't ask you to sacrifice your own dream. Offer up some alternatives. If this is an "all-inclusive resort" what about being a best man by proxy? Offer to host a get-together in NYC for those who couldn't go (there will certainly be quite a few) but want to be there for him, and have a webcast of the ceremony, etc. Maybe you'll start the next big craze....

I knew someone who rescinded a scholarship and did a transfer for swimming and stayed for the spring semester, to start with the new uni the next fall. Don't ask me why, but pro'ly an issue with the coach. Depends what UB has for a registration system. If you have to manually disenroll from classes on a PeopleSoft system (I had to when I took a leave of abscence; takes all of 3 minutes) or whatever UB has, it's a stupid mistake by him. He expected the administration to hold his hand and drop his classes for him?

OMFG. The worst of ABC merges with the worst of ESPN. Michaels isn't bad when he talks about football, but he goes off on tangents lots. Is Madden still there? Absent the Bills, it's truly a reason to turn in early on Mondays.

That was a really great idea. The wedding, after all, is about two people. The rest are just there to witness. Maybe RTDB could suggest this to his buddy when he mentions that --- surprise, surprise --- a lot of people are turning him down. Financial troubles are BY FAR the No. 1 reason for divorce in this country (No. 2 is differences in how to do collective household maintenence tasks). Starting out $30K in debt is simply stupid. Get a padre in a field, and have a pot-luck afterward. What is so hard about this? Folks, if wifey has to have a dreambook wedding, do yourself a favor and reconsider the marriage, b/c you're marrying an idiot.

If it were up to me, I'd go with the Mafia's way of dealing with diddlers and rapists. In a secluded shack in the woods, hang a wire from the ceiling and attach a Chinese finger in which to place the offender's genitalia. Have them propped in a chair so there is just enough tension on the wire, and handcuffed so they can just reach as far as necessary for the next step. Give them a dull butter knife. Step outside, lock the door and set the shack on fire. Stand outside with a shotgun just in case they actually do cut it off. If there's anywhere that can put this manner of punishment in the legal code, it's 'Bama. There is no rehabilitation for these scum.

Well, let this be his introduction on why he shouldn't ever have soft spot in his heart for the Cards. Even if they're the local team, and even if their play inspires weeping pathos. Hope your son gets some kind of instruction from the h.s. coach, and I'd bet he will. If there's nothing for linemen instruction, you might mosey over to the coach and ask him about it. People who do these things for love of the game tend to do better than those who are doing it for the $/NFL brandname promotion.

Guess that phrase is just on his mind lately. Good one. Yeah, saving a kid from drowning is a good deed, but that only raises him a notch above pond-sucking scum.

He's from Buffalo, too. Another white male. He'll probably nominate a woman to be Chief when Renquist steps down, and chalk that up under his 'legacy' thingy.

I'm just surprised that when he hit the water, he didn't scream out, "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

I've got 4 of my presets for NPR stations (the last is to a really good classic rock station I've been listening to recently) and usually do the same. Yesterday I caught an interview a guy was doing with soldiers' wives in Mississippi, about how they read a blog written by one of the husbands in Iraq. They really do have good news, much more varied than commercial media. Terri Gross is one of the better interviewers out there (she must have a face for radio). Just those fundraiser drives always annoying! I sent a five-spot last time. Why anyone would listen to Rush is beyond me. I have no idea what the book gets into, but Al Franken was correct in his title appraisal.

I thought you were going to say it had broccoli and baked beans.... Now that can be a powerful weapon in the wrong hands!

It would also make sense b/c I think it was her who doesn't have much of a "paper trail." You bet your bippy that Dubya doesn't want to be making the same mistake his father made (by appointing one of the more liberal judges), so he probably wants someone where he knows the gist of how they come to their ruling. I don't agree with a good deal of his domestic policy, but as President, it's his right to nominate who he wants, (and people who reluctantly voted for him lose all bitching rights). Then it's to the Senate to decide whether to confirm. What grates my elbow is that all along, this admin has been whining that their nominees should be confirmed with a big check mark, just because. As if it's just a rote, symbolic gesture the Constitution is calling for.

ABC is saying that their sources are saying it isn't Clement.