Alright, I'll allow myself one of these dopey questions:

Do you have a thought or two in regards to Steely Dan? (the band, not the Burroughsian device from whence their moniker was derived ... although thoughts on the latter might be oddly amusing)

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Len - You have four hours of "windshield time" (As Dan McNeil calls road trips)... What four albums are you listening to along the way? Any style, any genre, any artist... Which ones are your "go to"?

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

What do you think will happen ?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Sorry, no politics. Can't do it.

Eh, I respect them, saw them live about 20 years ago and they were great. But I wouldn't say they're in my top 20 or that I go out of my way to find them. About 5 of their songs I would call great and I love them, but I'm more a passive fan than one who actively seeks them out.

Understood on the politics Len. Sorry, shouldn't have asked. Don't know if you saw, but the best discussion for Cubs related stuff happens in your series/game threads. The Cardinals one is below(link) hope to see you there for some pre-game, in-game, or post-game thoughts.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=113419

Don't recall the question but on Heyward, this season has been almost EXACTLY the guy offensively the Cubs signed. These numbers are what he was his entire career before he became a Cub. I'm good with that. Good on him for making the necessary adjustments and Chili Davis gets a lot of credit too. On Darvish, the story so far has been very disappointing and terribly incomplete. Until he's healthy again, there isn't much else to say. I will say this -- I'd be surprised if, once healthy, he isn't a lot better. His pretty long track record says as much.

No, don't apologize, I think this means you win a prize.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

My thing the last couple years is audiobooks. I probably "read"/listen to about 80-90 books a year. And the occasional podcast -- Joe Rogan, true crime podcasts like In The Dark, West Cork, etc. The music stuff is hit or miss these days honestly.

I know you"re a jogger , how many miles a day ?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Also, on Darvish, what I find fascinating is this -- we ask our pro athletes to give us unvarnished thoughts and when someone like Darvish actually does, it freaks out some people. He's clearly a sensitive guy and I've found him to be incredibly polite and personable in the few times I've chatted with him. The bigger BASEBALL question is, how does this stuff affect him on the mound. Nobody really knows until we see him back pitching again.

Well honestly Len, if you're going to spend 100 million on a guy to basically replace one of the most mentally tough, accomplished alpha males in the league, you probably SHOULD know what you're getting.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

My goal is always 6.5 miles (10K). But life gets in the way, so this week for instance -- Monday, 3.5, Tuesday 6.5, Wednesday 6.5, today probably just a 7-minute interval thing (hopefully 2 circuits) just to do SOMETHING before I leave.

I know a guy who is the lead singer in a band. He is a devoted 5 mile a day jogger rain (treadmill) or shine. He says that this helps him tremendously with his voice / throat / breathing. What say you, Len?

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

I'm a bigfan of D'Adarrio string for my Fender Jazz and my 12 string.

Couple of your favorite bassists?
Jack Bruce, Duck Dunn, and John Paul Jones for me.

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Aw, come on, man!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6t2Laa1jLM

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Communists are just people who are terrible at capitalism.

One important thing I'd like to say here ... I think anonymity on these boards is a good thing because it allows all of you to say whatever you want without repercussions. You can rip people all you want and give unfettered opinions, which keeps people honest. I love that. HOWEVER, the flip side is this -- I am here as someone whose real name is attached to everything I write/say. So to expect me to behave in a similar manner is unrealistic. You all have avatars and monikers and that's the fun of it. But would you be willing to put your real name on everything you've ever publicly stated on this board? This is where the grey area comes in. I'm not asking anybody to water down their questions or comments, but to be disappointed when I won't jump into some murky areas feels, to me, a bit disingenuous and unfair. Is this a fair point or am I crazy?

I think it’s fair and to be expected.

Totally understandable.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

But I really am Furious Styles.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Very fair point.

Thanks, Matt.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

If you dig True Crime podcasts, I highly recommend Unsolved Murders on Parcast...really good, really interesting.

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The obvious difference is that we are not public figures, so standing by what we type here is somewhat meaningless.

Nobody cares what we think anyway...unless it's sports radio programming. Then they care...

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@audioidkid

I think he'll be streaky and have some success but the signing will be looked at as a mistake when all is said and done.

Thank you.

On Heyward, I was wondering if you had resigned yourself to him being the 2016-17 version or if you still, seriously, held out hope he'd return to form.

I think he'll be Quintana light here. .500 pitcher with more mediocre outings than good or great ones.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Len,

Does the difference in how the game is played now then in the past, (100MPH throwers compared to pitchers who worked the zone and hitters home run or bust attitude) change the way you call a game?

As a fan in his 40's, I am no longer able to sit through a full regular season ball game anymore. Not because it is too long, but because it is filled with dumbed down baseball. I hate the lack of strategy that is in todays game and imagine it gets boring calling a HR every other inning and trying new ways to sound disappointed when another Cub player strikes out in a key situation.

This is a fair point that many here understand, but don't feel the need to voice. You only hear the loud and obnoxious because they are just that, loud and obnoxious. Send an email to JORR and they will be banned (J/k inside joke)