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Your “Welcome To Day 4 – ‘It Can’t Stay the Same, Can It?’” Thursday Evening Open Thread

Beerguyrob

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Hi, my name is Beerguy, and I’d like to talk with you about that pit you feel in your stomach. Or maybe it’s in your heart. Well, it can’t be your head, because you’re an NFL fan, and Roger Goodell doesn’t believe in brain trauma.

His relationship with the fans.

Often times, people lose interest in things they used to enjoy and may withdraw from others. As we get further away from “The Big Game”™, people sometimes feel sad that the season has come to an end, and the next season seems so far away. We begin craving any new information related to the upcoming season. This is especially true for fans of teams that came close to making it to the finals, or people who hope that one day the Patriots can be knocked off their perch.

If you have gotten to the point in your craving where you are trying desperately to figure out if the Saskatchewan Roughriders did actually illegally work out Johnny Manziel, DFO is here to help.

League Year-end / Year-beginning: March 7-9

  • Why, that’s just one month away!
  • “Legal Tampering Period” – March 7th: NFL teams may begin contract negotiations with the agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents on March 9th at 4:00 PM (ET).

March 9 – before 4:00 PM (ET)

  • Deadline for NFL teams to exercise options for 2017 on any player with option clauses in their 2016 contracts.
  • NFL teams must submit qualifying offers to players with expiring contracts who will become Restricted Free Agents.
  • NFL teams must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to players who will become Exclusive-Rights Free Agents (expiring contracts and fewer than 3 accrued seasons).

March 9 – after 4:00 PM (ET)

  • 2017 NFL league year begins, all 2016 contracts expire, free agency and trading opens.
    • Who will be this year’s Darren Sproles?
    • Who will be this year’s Albert Haynesworth?
  • All teams must be and stay under the ‘Top-51’ salary cap for 2017.
    • Salary cap link here.

March 13 – Fifth-day of new league year contract implications.

  • Many player contracts have key dates in which a guarantee kicks in, with the fifth-day of a new league year a popular one.

3rd Week of April – The NFL will announce the 2017 schedule.

  • Here is a link to who the opponents will be. Actual game dates are announced.

April 27-29: 2017 NFL Draft – Philadelphia, PA

  • Will your team draft Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf??
  • Who will they find deep in the draft that becomes a superstar?!

See? There’s sweet, sweet sugar around nearly every corner. Turn that frown upside-down!

If all else fails, remember that the fifth stage of grief is hope/acceptance. At DFO, that’s pronounced “Sexy Friday”.

Double shot!

Malt of the Month:

With all of the Superb Owl festivities, it didn’t seem prudent at the time to pile on the Commentists’ selection of alcohols. But now that the “The Big Game”™ has passed, it’s time to look into what may help salve our depression as we trundle onward towards the draft – 77 days away.

BOWMORE THE DEVIL’S CASKS III – 56.7% – “Double The Devil”

Well, that does sound promising. Go on…

The final edition in Bowmore’s The Devil’s Casks trilogy, this has been aged entirely in sherry casks, creating a rich and intense whisky that combines notes of coffee, salted treacle and chocolate fudge with the distillery’s characteristic medium smoke.

Hmm, I’m not a peat fan. But it’s a good-looking bottle. Can you bring this around for me?

Finally, savour the powerful, long-­-lasting finish of smoked fruitcake, blood orange and sea salt.

NOPE! That’s too peaty for me. Smoked fruitcake? That’s a line I’m not touching. Still, I have to respect the fact that they’re trying.

Tonight’s sports:

  • NHL:
    • Islanders at Flyers – 7:00PM | NBCSP
    • Sharks at Bruins – 7:00PM | Sportsnet
  • NBA:
    • Cavaliers at Thunder – 8:00PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
    • Celtics at Trail Blazers – 10:30PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
  • NCAA: highlighted matchups
    • North Carolina at Duke – 8:00PM | ESPN / TSN
    • Oregon at UCLA – 10:00PM | ESPN / TSN

Today marks the halfway point of the school year. SUMMER, HERE I COME!

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Unsurprised

Vulture did an article on Buddy Cole, and even though it’s Vulture I had to share anyway especially once I saw their dope ass gif.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/kids-in-the-halls-scott-thompson-revisits-buddy-cole.html

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laserguru

comment image?1445876567

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Senor Weaselo

The Mr. Slave episode of South Park is on.

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Beerguyrob

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Shogun Marcus

You should all fall back in love (and asleep) to the dulcet tones of Kat Bjelland. The 90’s NAWT Courtney girl you really wanted.

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Shogun Marcus

She was also so TOTALLY AVAILABLE. YOU JUST HAD TO SAY YES JOSH! WHY MUST I NOW MOVE TO CANADA TO PROTECT MY LOVE FOR YOU?!

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Brocky

all my friends………………. I cannot respond to you directly, I forever cursed to be in a 3 hour delay.

woe is me.

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Brocky

so that’s miss piggy was born

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Hard to believe it took 4 OT’s to decide that Samford AND Wofford both suck.

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Senor Weaselo

It’s about who sucks MORE!

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Senor Weaselo

Buffalo stampede in Canada… UCLA comeback? Can… can I have some of whatever he’s on please?

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Does Bill Walton’s shirt say “Lick Cubans”….?

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Senor Weaselo

If you take a drink every time Bill Walton says “Conference of Champions,” do you make it to tip-off?

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Gratliff

Catching up on Vice News, and they did a story about charter schools and the way certain families benefit greatly from charters, specifically ones with special needs, and how charters that specialize in special ed tend to struggle with standardized testing. It’s funny because just a few years ago, I was ready to close down every single one of the things as it’s not hard to see where they pull from public school systems in a lot of states, and here in Michigan, the corruption flows freely. Google Steven Ingersoll as the most recent one thrown in jail for stealing public money through his management company. Michigan is going to be under the shadow of DeVos for a long time.

So, my kid has had an IEP since he was 3. Originally for a developmental delay, now for ADHD and emotional impairment. The rural public school he was going to was doing a shit-tastic job handling him as he grew more violent and unpredictable. It clearly wasn’t going to work, so we took advantage of the school choice laws to shop around at the smaller charter school further downstate. Turns out, it’s not usually a belief that the charter school is going to give the child a better education. Many public charter students were either enrolled in them as an alternative school when the public schools wouldn’t take them anymore for whatever reason, or, as in my case, we thought putting him into a smaller setting with far more flexible approaches to education would suit him well. We ended up going with a tiny charter school with slightly over 100 students in it. As it so happened, the leadership of the school were either previous special ed employees or had family members that were part of the programs. It’s been amazing watching them bend over backwards and trying to further empower and reward their own support staff all in the name of helping literally one child. The first year went really well, but unfortunately this year has come completely off the rails despite almost constant adjustments to try and match his needs, and we’ll likely be going back into the public school system now that we have a more exact idea of what he needs, the public schools have systems in place for it, and it’s likely going to be outside the scope of what a small charter can handle. Still, it has been astonishing and touching watching them do everything in their power to give him a chance to succeed there.

So, I’m at an odd place with them where my personal experience and my personal philosophies are clashing. It’s hard to trust the people controlling the money to the charters, but it’s been eye-opening dealing with the actual staff. There are some considerable weaknesses, of course. In Michigan, they get full access to special ed services from the ISDs/ESAs/Whatevers, but all other public school benefits are optional. Money tends to be hilariously mismanaged at the very top through ill-advised or shady contracts, and opting for less effective in-house alternatives to support services such as IT that actually cost the school more than an agreement with an ISD would. The management companies that tend to handle the finances are rife with corruption across the state. A lot of the vocational tech/career prep programs are inaccessible to charter students. There’s also a danger of a charter school getting closed or otherwise sanctioned by the state as the non-standard curriculum doesn’t translate to good state test scores.

Still, if you have a child that seems to struggle in public education where they should probably be doing far better, or a special ed student that either isn’t getting the level of attention you think they might need or just isn’t handling a public school environment well, it’s worth looking at public charters as an alternative.

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Gratliff

tl;dr: The charter school system is run by management companies that want to bleed public funds dry. The people who work in charter schools are equally amazing to anything you’ll find in a public school. They can be a great alternative to the public school systems for children with unique circumstances, but can hinder traditional students.

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ballsofsteelandfury

In my experience, there are some good charter schools that really care about giving students good alternative options and others that just want to turn a profit by playing school. It’s very difficult to paint with a broad brush as I’ve seen both sides.

I’m very glad you were able to find one that was able to address your kid’s needs. Many times, in public schools, it is very difficult to find the right environment for a special needs child.

It’s worth a discussion for another time, but this is another place where the stark contrast of city versus country life is amplified.

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Gratliff

Michigan, in itself, is unique as the state where Betsy DeVos decided to start forcing her vision of education on the world. Some universities appear almost predatory in the way they hand out charters. Lake Superior State University is on the northern-most border with Canada and has charters all the way down to Detroit. Ingersoll was running two of their charters when he was arrested. Twenty years of the DeVos family attempting to turn it into their own personal Christian Education Utopia has completely poisoned the state legislature and crippled public schools, especially around Wayne county. (Surprisingly, the bill to give state money to parochial schools got crushed, at least giving us that much of a line.)

Even in the public districts, we have board members that don’t trust or don’t believe in the ISDs and push to refuse their support. People hear about the ISDs and REMCs and unions and other education collectives, and think socialism, and get bombarded with anti-public education propaganda. Been a few close calls with operations millages nearly being voted down because some people don’t understand a public school will close immediately without it. Hiring power and the ability to offer incentives is really where public schools are getting murdered right now. It’s leading to more and more young educators going into charters. It’s possible it’s made the public charters more competitive than they are in other states. Unfortunately, it’s less that the charters are catching up than it is that the public system has been dragged down to their level. Everyone’s aware that the Michigan school system is falling apart, especially in the urban areas. That’s why people in Michigan palmed their collective faces when DeVos got named as Secretary of Education.

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JerBear50

I appreciate some of the work VICE does, but I get tired of slogging through so many pages of “HEY FUCK YOU MAN, WE’RE ALTERNATIVE!!” stories to get to the decent journalism that it almost makes it not worth it.

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Gratliff

Yeah, I won’t read it, but I dig the HBO series, which apparently added a separate nightly news show while I wasn’t paying attention.

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JerBear50

I don’t get hbo, so it’s just the web version for me. It’s tiresome.

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Moose -The End Is Well Nigh

Have you tried the Viceland channel? They have a couple of great shows on there.

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JerBear50

No, I’ve noticed it but I’m usually at work when I get on there. They’ve cracked down pretty hard on watching any sort of video feeds so I haven’t checked them out.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Yep, seems about time to call it a night now.
And to quit the drums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C00BpiE52mM

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Shogun Marcus

I hate her and simultaneously wish her all the best of outcomes. God. Damn.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Right?

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Shogun Marcus

NOAP. PRETTY SEXY DRUMMER GIRL OR NOT. I DO NOT ACCEPT KISS. IT’S A SANDY LINE BUT THERE IT IS. I’VE NEVER AND I WON’T.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Snob.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZq3i94mSsQ

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Shogun Marcus

It’s an odd aversion. Like cilantro. A touch is TOO much. Yup I said that.

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JerBear50

You had me with KISS, but lost me with cilantro.

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Shogun Marcus

If you know this song minus context, we will get along fine.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tWZ9ihZ_TUw

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theeWeeBabySeamus

/shows self out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxrwImCJCqk

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Shogun Marcus

I truly love this cover.

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JerBear50

Seconded. Goddamn I forgot how hot they were.

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Shogun Marcus

I know we here need no reminders, but just in case. Girls rule.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LkRWTWBBsAc

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Brocky

So saturday night my friends decided to show me legend of korra, which I had only caught clips of, and I had no Idea Jk simmons was in it.

I say this because for whatever reason, whenever I hear simmons talk, I cannot not think of him finishing up by adding, “and hank Mardukas”, like he does in I love you man

Legend of Korra: Avatar Korra, you must empty your mind and ease your spirit. Focus on your breathing and the air around you.. And hank mardukas

Portal 2: “Just a heads up: We’re gonna have a superconductor turned up full blast and pointed at you for the duration of this next test. I’ll be honest, we’re throwing science at the wall here to see what sticks. No idea what it’ll do. Probably nothing. Best-case scenario, you might get some superpowers. Worst case, some tumors, which we’ll cut out…. and Hank Mardukas

Spider-Man: Bring Me Pictures! Pictures of Spider-Man!…. And Hank Mardukas!

Whiplash: NOT MY FUCKING TEMPO….AND HANK MARDUKAS!

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Senor Weaselo

Hold up… *Googles*… he’s Cave Johnson? And you didn’t go for the combustible lemons?

When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!… and Hank Mardukas.

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Brocky

everyone does the lemons bit, i find the tumor line much more subtly humorous.

also I forgot lady killers: The Freedom Riders, my fine young man, were a group of concerned liberals from up north, all working together, just like we are here. Involved citizens who came down here so that local black folk could have their civil liberties. So that people like you could have the vote…. and Hank Mardukas

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JerBear50

I will never understand how this was not the theme for Justified instead of that fucking rapgrass thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYvl3dgHgg

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entropy

It kind of was…. they used it pretty sparingly, and usually for dramatic effect. I’m actually happy each episode didn’t start with this, because as I’m sure you recall, we were all at the Mothership then and fuckin Dustin would have started every recap with ponderings of when Raylen would die and/or get betrayed by the Irish Governor.

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JerBear50

I know they used it in one of the final episodes, might have been the finale. I didn’t really spend that much time over at WG. I don’t watch that much tv and what I do watch is usually backed up a week or two at least so I tend to avoid recap stuff. Also, there was just a lot of disphittery on that site, at least by the time I got around to it. I was pretty much KSK only until the final year or two. Film Drunk was alright though.

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Shogun Marcus

Ok…girl, drummer, AND CANADIAN!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=EGEMVo3uNBE

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Interesting. Thought she had double bass while listening and not watching.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

I’m bored, so moar hot girl drummers…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6w_3P_l5FA

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Senor Weaselo

Life’s been good to him. The drugs, maybe a little less so.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

So far…..

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King Hippo

There’s as much defense on the backdoor play here as at a Fire Island rave afterparty…

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Senor Weaselo

Buddy approves of this post.

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Shogun Marcus

Exhibit A of Pi:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fQ5ESFZ7msM

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Bill Walton became Joe Walsh so gradually that…..
No wait, he was always that way.

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Beerguyrob

It’d be more fun if he became Bill Walsh. Even he could’ve won more games than Chip Kelly.

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King Hippo

THAT’S GOOD HUSTLE!!

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King Hippo

This is a good reminder why I don’t watch much PAC-whatevs basketballing, which is a lead pipe guarantee that the Left Coasters will dominate the March brackets. Hippo always gamble shitty.

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theeWeeBabySeamus

But, but…..Molly n Magic.

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King Hippo

I hope he didn’t get his AIDS all over her!!!

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theeWeeBabySeamus

Hahahahahaha….Fricking Sparty. Can’t trust ’em.

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