atx_newbie

No kidding. I can't remember ever buying paper when I lived on my own. Now it seems like I buy it all the time. That and paper towels. Not to mention regular towels. Seriously, do you need to use a new towel after every shower? But not just one towel, two towels, one for the body and one for the hair. I use so much detergent just washing towels I should buy stock in Tide!

Thanks!

For living in an area with a lot of snow, like Chicago, do I need to get specialty wiper blades? If so, anyone recommend a particula winter wiper blade?

I have to admit, as I learn more about this recent Illinois scandal, that I've never heard of anything quite to that extent in Louisiana. I mean seriously, selling a senate seat and extorting the president-elect? That's a new low for any level of government, anywhere. As far as Jindal goes, don't get me started. I won't say much about him, because I can't without getting political. Just go to the fact check websites, look at some of the bills that he has passed and the comments made about certain issues, and make your own decision. Not many of my friends back home think much of him, and they are all die-hard republicans. I will say one thing positive about him--he learned the lessons of Katrina and is determined not to let it happen again. Earlier this year, as Gustav was approaching, he closed every public school in Louisiana and sent over 1,000 school buses from around the state to New Orleans and other areas that were evacuating.

Eye used spell check to revue this post. It said their are no wrongs in my message. Isn't spell check grate!

Haha I guess that's a plus. But if those stairs were like our roads, they didn't last long! Fun fact: Since becoming a state in the early 1800's (around 1815), the state constitution of LA has been rewritten a lot. Not amended, but rewritten. Every time a new party took control, everything was completely changed. I don't remember the exact number of times, but it was something ridiculous. Like 150 times or something.

Nothing is worse than Louisiana politics. Here is a joke that my Louisiana History told us in 8th grade, and it's stuck with me. I describes LA politics pretty well: The mayor of Shreveport, LA decided that the stairway and main entry to city hall needed to be remodeled, so he started taking bids on the job. The first bid was from a contractor in Shreveport. His bid came out to $2,000 for materials, and $6,000 for labor, for a total of $8,000. The second bid was from a contractor in Lafayette. His bid was the same as the contractor from Shreveport, though he added $1,000 for travel expenses for his crew, so his total was $9,000. The last bid that the mayor got was from a contractor in New Orleans. His bid came out to $18,000. The mayor was pretty upset about this bid, and demanded that the contractor explain himself. After all, travel from New Orleans to Shreveport shouldn't cost the extra ten grand. The contractor says, "Well, it's pretty simple actually. It works out to be $5,000 for me, $5,000 for you, and we pay the guy from Shreveport to do it!"

x2. I so wanted to be that kid!

Amen. I am looking forward to Ohio State lose a third straight BCS game though. That will be fun.

When I was young I used to get the RLS (or jimmy legs, for Seinfeld fans), and I complained to my mom about it. She said I spent too much time watching TV, and needed to exercise more. In my opinion, twitchy legs is just a symptom of leading a sedentary lifestyle. So many things that you can go to the doctor and get medicine for are just caused by a lack of good ole physical activity. How many kids with ADD were there in the 1800's? My guess, probably not a lot.

I know a lot of people will probably laugh at this, but... Think about joining a tanning bed. Or, you said you joined a gym, a lot of gyms have tanning beds available. I can't afford to do it anymore, but it was always one of my favorite parts of my day. A ten minute power nap, in the heat with the fans, you dream you're on a beach. Not to mention, the vitamin-D that you get from it is great for your body.

You're right about Ball State. They did just lose their conference championship, after all. I'm just so used to hearing their name mentioned all season in conjunction with Utah and Boise.

Yeah, I think that is the part of the BCS that needs the overhaul the most. The four BCS bowls (Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, and Rose) need to get rid of their attachments to particular conferences, and pick in order of the BCS ranking. For instance, this year, the Orange Bowl is hosting Virginia Tech (automatic because of winning in the ACC) and Cincy (automatic because of winning the Big East). Neither of those teams are ranked in the BCS top 10. So instead of 11-1 Texas Tech getting to play in a BCS bowl, it's 11-2 Cincy versus 10-3 (i think) VT. That's wrong. Same with the Rose Bowl. Okay, so it's tradition, big deal. Oregon State, who isn't even ranked, was one win away from playing in a BCS bowl, while teams like Boise State, Ball State, and TCU will miss the boat on the BCS. Granted, historically the winner of the Pac-10 and winner of the Big-10 were among the best in the nation any given year, but that is not the case anymore. Using the top-10 BCS rankings, this is how the BCS bowls should be. Rose Bowl: #10 Ohio State vs. #9 Boise State Sugar Bowl: #8 Penn State vs. #7 Texas Tech Orange Bowl: #6 Utah vs. #5 USC Fiesta Bowl: #4 Bama vs. #3 Texas Nat'l Champ: #2 Florida vs. #1 Oklahoma. This is not arguing the rankings--I used the final rankings, which I feel are fairly accurate. And if you feel like one bowl is more prestigious, the bowls I listed are interchangeable, but you see the concept. Once the BCS system was developed, those bowls should not be allowed to keep there conference tie-ins.

I am probably one of those rare individuals that gets happier during the winter and cold weather. After living 21 years in north Louisiana and central Texas, I am so sick of 100 degree days being the rule, rather than the exception, from March through October. It's miserable. I can't get dressed and get to work without my pits already being dark from sweat. I can't enjoy a round of golf because I have to use 6 different gloves during the course of the round just to keep a hold of the club. Then, by July and August, swimming doesn't even cool you off, because the overnight low was 88 degrees and the water never even cools off. Don't even get me started on my A/C bills! I love the winter, just because there are a few days where I can wear a full suit and tie and not be at risk of heat exhaustion. Man, I can't wait to get to Chicago (only 3 more weeks).

Yep, go Gators, go SEC. I think Florida will win this one. If there is a team out there that could have beaten Florida, it was Bama. And they almost did. But it just shows that the spread, when run well with good talent, is the best offensive scheme in college football right now. And Oklahoma can't stop it.

The broadcasters always go with whichever ranking looks best, whether that is the BCS ranking or AP ranking. I'm surprised by the game though, Alabama is actually playing like a #1 team.

Just like Capone--get away with a lifetime of violence, only to be brought to justice by a much lesser crime. Not that armed robbery and kidnapping is a lesser crime, but compared to a couple counts of premeditated murder, it's like jaywalking.

I actually heard this being discussed on ESPN radio, but missed the actual results. Thanks for this.

I'm so torn by the prospective Nat'l Champ. match-up. I'm a former LSU student, and big fan, living in Austin, who has always been a Longhorn fan for some reason. I could pull for Florida, the team that has traded licks with LSU for the past 5-6 seasons en route to championships, or Oklahoma, the team that is more hated by Longhorns than the Aggies. What to do, what to do...? Haha I guess just sit back and enjoy a game for the ages.

Yeah, but sooner or later you will have a bad game and you won't be able to score 60 (vs. Texas, for instance). My high school soccer team had one of the most unproductive offense in the state, yet we made a couple of good playoff runs, because our defense was stout. In two seasons, about 40 games, we lost only two games by more than one goal. Granted, a good offense would always breakthrough eventually and score one, but we kept ourselves in it by having a strong defense. Sure, high school soccer and div-1A football are different, but the bottom line is that if you have to have one, either a good offense or a good defense, you pick the defense.

I hope Tubb leaves the SEC. As fun as it is watching LSU beat him, something about watching him stalk the sidelines just irks me.

Yeah, and if OU had gotten the job done against Texas, we also wouldn't be having this discussion. The fact is, there are three teams that all "got the job done" in a lot of games this season. Each just had one bad game (arguably, just one bad half of one game). This really was a situation that would have been impossible to foresee, and I just have to say that I'm glad I don't work for the Big 12. Who deserves it more is hard to say. OU has looked unstoppable on offense this year, pretty much driving at will. However, their defense has been very permeable. No one put up the points on Texas that OU allowed this season. For example, Texas vs. KS=35-7, whereas Kansas scored 21 on OU. Same with OK State. They scored 24 on Texas, but 41 on OU. In fact, no one all season put up 40 on Texas, while two teams put 40 on OU. And as we all know, defense wins games. Maybe not every game, but at least once a season you can expect for your complicated, timing and talent based spread offense to be off. It happened to OU, Tech, Texas, Florida, Penn State, and anyone else that runs that modern college FB offense. But a good defense is always dependable.

Try working a retail job this time of year. I now know how fortunate I am to have the job that I do--2 years ago I was working at Banana Republic during the holidays, now I run an apartment complex. One of my employees asked me yesterday if we were going to decorate or anything, I replied with a resounding "NO!"

I finally got it after about 30 tries...

Am i missing something, or is this a trick? I feel like I'm at Cracker Barrell with one of those peg boards...