NSBB at the 2005 Convention

[mlpeel]

Wow, Jon really covered the spectrum: not a lot for me to add.

 

Despite the weather, I arrived with my friend Rich in good time to get good seats for Meet Cubs Baseball Management -- good thing, since I didn't see Jon and Serena and I don't know 1908 (who was holding seats for me) by sight. Jon and 1908 had both left phone messages for me; I got them shortly after I got home tonight... Though the room ultimately filled up, it wasn't anything like last year's crush; the weather scared off all but the true die-hards, I think.

 

Bruce Miles stopped by to chat for 15 to 20 minutes while waiting for Hendry to arrive. The most relevant note from Bruce: he doesn't think revealing Sosa's departure from the final game (which, per Bruce, was an isolated incident, totally unlike Sosa's usual work habits) hurt the Cubs' chances of dealing Sammie; Sosa's contract made that difficult from the start. Bruce also shocked me into silence (never easy!) by affirming that Paul Sullivan of the Tribune is indeed a Cubs fan; I never would have guessed that from Sullivan's articles...

 

Bruce also said HoopsCubs was planning to attend on Saturday; perhaps he'll have a Convention post or two later on.

 

I asked Jim Hendry how he reformed the farm system. Naturally he didn't go into specifics, but described the situation he inherited from the Larry Himes regime as "a disaster"; implied that the current Cubs farm system is modelled after the systems Gary Hughes set up for Cincinnati and Florida; said his best move was making Oneri Fleita the Latin American coordinator; and credited the system's strength to improved drafts and undrafted free agents signings in Latin America, Australia, and Asia. He was pleased with the number of homegrown players who logged time with the 2004 Cubs, and mentioned that Ramirez and Garciaparra were obtained in exchange for players from the system (he might have added that Derrek Lee, Matt Clement, and indirectly Michael Barrett also were obtained for Cubs minor leaguers -- but he may not have wished to add that that was also true of Alex Gonzalez and Paul Bako).

 

The overall tenor of Meet Cubs Baseball Management was nothing like as hostile as I expected; it really went amicably. Some pointed questions were raised, but without the nastiness that marred some past Conventions.

 

 

Jon caught up with us at the coffee shop. As he noted, we moved on to the Dusty/coaches session, where we sat with Mark_R. Catching sight of Jon's NSBB T-shirt, Old_Style_Man introduced himself from a few rows back. He was drinking some beverage from a cup, but I haven't a clue what it could have been...

 

I can't add to Jon's coverage of the Baker session. As far as I was concerned, meeting Mark and OSM was the highlight: halfway through, I left to reserve seats at "Baseball Renaissance".

 

 

A useless precaution: the room never came close to filling, and seats were still available in the front rows during the session. But what the room lacked in quantity, it made up in quality: this was by far the best group of questions I've ever heard posed at the Convention, and MacPhail's answers were forthright and interesting. Jon covered most of it, but I can add a couple of items. MacPhail stated that $1.3 *billion* was spent on player acquisitions this offseason -- and that the New York teams accounted for 30% of it (at least, I *think* my scribbled note says 30%; at any rate, it was an exceptionally high percentage for 2 teams out of 30). As Jon mentioned, Carlos Beltran's deal received a lot of discussion; I asked MacPhail afterward if he thought Houston had really come close to keeping Beltran in the face of the Mets' 7 year, $119M offer. MacPhail replied, yes, the Astros had almost pulled it off: they had gone 7 years and 9 figures in salary. His source for this tidbit? Astros owner Drayton McLane.

 

Jon didn't mention Pat Hughes's interjection when I asked MacPhail about a technicality of the waiver rule. As MacPhail marshalled his thoughts about my question, Hughes said, "The other night, Ron Santo was explaining the waiver system." I laughed so hard I almost hyperventilated.

 

Ernie59 and Mark Kanges hailed me as I left this session (in answer to Djaxxfan, I don't believe Mark asked any questions, let alone tough ones, in this session). We chatted a few minutes and I introduced them to Jon.

 

I ran into one of Serena's friends after this session; he remembered me from last year (probably thinking, "Oh, there's that guy who never shuts up.") He told me Serena was sick that morning, but might make it to the Convention later.

 

 

With snow falling hard when this session ended, I resolved to believe the forecasts -- that snow would end in the late afternoon -- and so stuck around for 1 more session (wrong call, alas: I would have saved myself a lot of driving grief if I'd beat it after the MacPhail session like Jon did). I opted for History of the Cubs Convention, featuring John McDonough, his #2 man Jay Blunk, and Wayne Mesmer. It was an amusing but not terribly informative session. McDonough told some good stories. The best: when asked about the removal of the names from the uniforms (more on that below), he said he really wasn't the right guy to tinker with uniforms; he was still living down the time he had suggested putting CUBS across the uniform fronts -- a design which didn't outlast Opening Day: when Harry went into the radio booth in the middle innings, he suddenly blurted out, "Hey! It looks like CUBA on the uniforms." Exit CUBS uniforms, stage left...

 

McDonough also described how he sold Harry on the original concept of the Convention in August of 1985. McDonough felt he couldn't put the Convention over without Harry's help -- particularly since Harry would have to fly in to a Chicago winter from Palm Springs. He said Harry loved titles for himself ("The Mayor of Rush Street"); halfway through his pitch, McDonough had an inspiration, and told Harry he would be the Honorary Chairman of the Convention. Harry mentally tried that on for size, and McDonough knew he had him; Harry talked up the Convention on every broadcast for the rest of that dreary season. Over the years, Harry grew less involved, but he continued to think of himself as the Honorary Chairman and felt a sense of authorship for the Convention -- and McDonough added that he certainly deserved to.

 

From the Q&A, perhaps the most interesting item: someone asked why Sosa wasn't in this year's Cubs Calendar. McDonough answered they basically weren't sure if Sosa would still be a Cub next year. So belief that Hendry could trade Sosa ran deep in the organization -- which McDonough (perhaps unintentionally) emphasized when he said that Hendry *would* make more moves before Opening Day.

 

Blunk was given "credit" for the removal of the names this year; he said it fit into the traditionalism the Cubs sell, but they'd revisit the decision next offseason.

 

McDonough hired Mesmer away from the White Sox; he and Wayne are old friends.

 

There was no special to-do about this being the 20th Convention because they didn't want to deflect attention from Sandberg's election to the Hall. Perhaps the 25th Convention...

[J.R.]

Did the guys make any mention of the uniform changes for next year? I'm suprised there wasn't an example of the nameless shirt on display somewhere.

 

I'm anxious to see if they keep the red trim, and how big the numbers will be.

[mlpeel]

Mark and Rich, thank you for allowing me to enjoy the sessions with you gentlemen, great to meet both of you and learn a lot in the short time I was with both of you.

 

Not at all, Mark: the pleasure was ours.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

They were selling them in the official merchandise area. They looked...weird...

[J.R.]

They were selling them in the official merchandise area. They looked...weird...

 

On-sale already? That's cool.

[Jon]

Jon didn't mention Pat Hughes's interjection when I asked MacPhail about a technicality of the waiver rule. As MacPhail marshalled his thoughts about my question, Hughes said, "The other night, Ron Santo was explaining the waiver system." I laughed so hard I almost hyperventilated.

I completely forgot to write that down because I was laughing pretty hard. Pat also told the story of how Jim Riggleman actually had to console Ron Santo in the clubhouse after the game in September of 1998 when Brant Brown droped the fly ball. He said it was the first time in history that a manager had to cheer up a broadcaster. MacPhail then told the story of how the next game, Brant Brown was right back out there in left field starting and a pigeon attacked him for an entire inning. He speculated that it was the reincarnation of Harry Caray. Good stuff.

 

Yeah, I decided to head out because I was exhausted and really needed to get back to do a little bit of work. By the time the train I was on got through the loop and above ground, the weather was absolutely brutal. I caught the earlier end of the delays because of terrible visibility and the switches were starting to freeze. It had to have been a lot worse later on.

 

Okay, time for bed. I've got to get up at about 6:30 tomorrow.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Wow, thank you for the wonderful recaps, Jon, Jessica, Mark_R, mlpeel and burnt out cubbie fan. They were great reads and I'm really envious of all of you.

 

-In terms of top 5 minor leaguers with the highest ceiling, said he's not 100% sure that Guzman will be ready. Not in the top 5 and they can't count on him. He was ready, though, in 2003 and that's a shame. Dope will be 21 next year and has the opportunity to be a very good middle of the lineup type guy. Was very high on him. Was also very high on Pie. He watched in in a 4 game series and said the guy can do it all. Harvery and Pinto are two more in his top 5. Andy's sleeper pick is Sergio Mitre. He should have been at AAA last year and has developed a "plus, plus sinker." Hopefully he'll continue to develop.

 

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying. It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

Wow, thank you for the wonderful recaps, Jon, Jessica, Mark_R, mlpeel and burnt out cubbie fan. They were great reads and I'm really envious of all of you.

 

-In terms of top 5 minor leaguers with the highest ceiling, said he's not 100% sure that Guzman will be ready. Not in the top 5 and they can't count on him. He was ready, though, in 2003 and that's a shame. Dope will be 21 next year and has the opportunity to be a very good middle of the lineup type guy. Was very high on him. Was also very high on Pie. He watched in in a 4 game series and said the guy can do it all. Harvery and Pinto are two more in his top 5. Andy's sleeper pick is Sergio Mitre. He should have been at AAA last year and has developed a "plus, plus sinker." Hopefully he'll continue to develop.

 

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying. It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

hopefully tomorrow I should have a cool little gift for all of you that cannot attend. 8)

[Chris]

Yet another great report. It sounds like you all had a great time up there. I may have to make it a point to go there next year. I would love the opportunity to visit with all of you.

 

Thanks for the Kanges update. I was curious what would happen with that.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Wow, thank you for the wonderful recaps, Jon, Jessica, Mark_R, mlpeel and burnt out cubbie fan. They were great reads and I'm really envious of all of you.

 

-In terms of top 5 minor leaguers with the highest ceiling, said he's not 100% sure that Guzman will be ready. Not in the top 5 and they can't count on him. He was ready, though, in 2003 and that's a shame. Dope will be 21 next year and has the opportunity to be a very good middle of the lineup type guy. Was very high on him. Was also very high on Pie. He watched in in a 4 game series and said the guy can do it all. Harvery and Pinto are two more in his top 5. Andy's sleeper pick is Sergio Mitre. He should have been at AAA last year and has developed a "plus, plus sinker." Hopefully he'll continue to develop.

 

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying. It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

 

It also makes me wonder if Mitre could win the 5th starter's job. :-k

[mlpeel]

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying.

 

Rightly so, though: no pitcher in the system has been treated with greater care than Guzman, yet he's broken down every season but one (and that was a short season). There's no reason to expect he'll ever stay healthy long enough to compile an impressive career: the #1 predictor of future injury for a baseball player, particularly a pitcher, is past injury. I still list Guzman in my Cubs Top Ten (but not Top Five) prospects, but that's perhaps an indictment of my rating system and the current state of the system rather than a meaningful endorsement of Guzman.

 

It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

 

I was quite surprised to hear MacPhail tout Pinto over Sean Marshall -- and I say this as someone with a slight acquaintance with and a healthy respect for Pinto. But Mitre's appearance didn't surprise me at all. Interestingly, MacPhail described Sergio's sinker as "double-plus". What a far cry from the kid who couldn't throw any kind of breaking pitch when he was with the Lugnuts only 3 years ago.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

Wow, thank you for the wonderful recaps, Jon, Jessica, Mark_R, mlpeel and burnt out cubbie fan. They were great reads and I'm really envious of all of you.

 

-In terms of top 5 minor leaguers with the highest ceiling, said he's not 100% sure that Guzman will be ready. Not in the top 5 and they can't count on him. He was ready, though, in 2003 and that's a shame. Dope will be 21 next year and has the opportunity to be a very good middle of the lineup type guy. Was very high on him. Was also very high on Pie. He watched in in a 4 game series and said the guy can do it all. Harvery and Pinto are two more in his top 5. Andy's sleeper pick is Sergio Mitre. He should have been at AAA last year and has developed a "plus, plus sinker." Hopefully he'll continue to develop.

 

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying. It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

 

It also makes me wonder if Mitre could win the 5th starter's job. :-k

Well, it is Dusty...

[burnt out cubbie fan]

One last story from the convention. During the Pitchers and Catchers segment, somebody asked the panel if they would shake hands with Moises Alou during the season. Michael Barrett answered the question saying that he knew what the person was referring to and that the whole story was untrue. Apparently, Moises was doing BP one day and this guy keeps coming up to him and asking to shake his hand. Moises wanted to concentrate so he kept telling him no. Finally he had enough and he made up this story about how he urinated on his hands to scare the guy off. Apparently, the writer that wrote the story overheard this and wrote the article. The rest is history. Kind of sounds far fetched but you never know.

[jjgman21]

well late last night I saw donnied's post of tickets available and sent a pm around midnite. I wasn't able to get online until about 11:30, but called him and found out he still had 2. I was shocked that they were as inexpensive as they are, and pleased that Donnie and I struck a quick deal.

 

getting a late start with my girlfriend's son Sam in tow and two train rides later, we arrived a little after 4, and Donnie gave us a bonus. a certificate for a Ryno autograph. we were about 12th from the end of the line but Donnie was there with his friends, and he and his friends we nice to the boy.

 

Sammy had a 1986 card on him, but I liked the photo and cheesy bio in the program as a better spot for the sig. the real quandry was whether to go meet my boyhood idol, or let the boy get the thrill, since only one person should go up there. I probably could have pulled the handicap card, since Sammy is mute and shouldn't be left to wander even for a few moments, but I played it straight and stayed back to get a pic.

 

I don't know how some of you do it. I'm exhasted from the trip downtown and back, getting one autograph, looking around the hotel and one tour through the merechandise.

 

we got back to the metra station starving, with two minutes to board. but the train didn't have its doors open yet. being a veteran train rider, I knew they couldn't leave for at least 10 minutes, so we were able to get some burgers for the ride home. they announced the boarding as we were handed the burgers. perfect!

 

there was a mom with two sons, like 16 and 13 year old. I overheard her tell someone else that she had her camera or something stolen last night at the convention. she told the cubs people, and it went really high up. they got to meet Ronnie (no, not Woowoo, who I saw twice) and each had a signed bat from him.

 

I don't think I have the time or energy to head back tomorrow, but that's ok. this was more just recon anyway for a future trip to the whole three days. however, if I were to go tomorrow, I would try for an autograph with Dubois, and point out the confidence most of the people at a certain website have in him. hint hint.

 

thanks again to donnied.

[Outshined_One]

It also makes me wonder if Mitre could win the 5th starter's job. :-k

Well, it is Dusty...

 

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Dusty has shown that he's not afraid to throw young pitchers out there and prove themselves. Mitre might not have the same ceiling as Pinto or Guzman, but he's got an advantage over the two in that he has major league experience along with tough makeup.

 

I have a pretty good feeling about our 5th starter situation next season. We might not get a rookie of the year or a Cy Young winner out of whoever wins the job, but a reasonable ERA and WHIP aren't out of the question.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

If the Cubs themselves aren't being that optimistic about Guzman's health, that is very worrying.

 

Rightly so, though: no pitcher in the system has been treated with greater care than Guzman, yet he's broken down every season but one (and that was a short season). There's no reason to expect he'll ever stay healthy long enough to compile an impressive career: the #1 predictor of future injury for a baseball player, particularly a pitcher, is past injury. I still list Guzman in my Cubs Top Ten (but not Top Five) prospects, but that's perhaps an indictment of my rating system and the current state of the system rather than a meaningful endorsement of Guzman.

 

It is good to see Renyel Pinto and Sergio Mitre get some love though.

 

I was quite surprised to hear MacPhail tout Pinto over Sean Marshall -- and I say this as someone with a slight acquaintance with and a healthy respect for Pinto. But Mitre's appearance didn't surprise me at all. Interestingly, MacPhail described Sergio's sinker as "double-plus". What a far cry from the kid who couldn't throw any kind of breaking pitch when he was with the Lugnuts only 3 years ago.

 

Thanks, Mark. I guess I have been a bit too optimistic about Guzman's health improving. It's a shame that someone so talented has had so many injury problems. Is there a chance a shift to the bullpen (as Tim suggested last summer) would help alleviate some of the injury risks?

 

Would you rate Marshall ahead of Pinto? I think a bit more highly of Pinto since he achieved success at a higher level and hasn't had the injury problems Sean Marshall has experienced this past season. Of course Pinto has to improve his control; Sean's got an obvious advantage over Renyel there.

 

I'd love to see Sergio win the fifth starter spot this upcoming season.

Edited January 23, 2005 by CaliforniaRaisin

[imb]

Yeah, but how many screwdrivers did Jim have?

 

Woohoo, that never gets old.

 

To me.

[mlpeel]

Thanks, Mark. I guess I have been a bit too optimistic about Guzman's health improving. It's a shame that someone so talented has had so many injury problems. Is there a chance a shift to the bullpen (as Tim suggested last summer) would help alleviate some of the injury risks?

 

Personally, I doubt it. Now that his pitching shoulder has already been weakened by injuries, it's just waiting to give again.

 

I have a suspicion that the root problem is the big overhand curve Guzman throws: every season he's had it in his arsenal, he's gotten hurt, but the season he didn't, he stayed healthy.

 

Would you rate Marshall ahead of Pinto? I think a bit more highly of Pinto since he achieved success at a higher level and hasn't had the injury problems Sean Marshall has experienced this past season. Of course Pinto has to improve his control; Sean's got an obvious advantage over Renyel there.

 

I do rate Marshall higher than Pinto -- not dramatically higher, but higher. It's possible I could find out things that might change that assessment, but that's where I stand right now. Marshall didn't hurt his pitching arm, and in my experience pitchers usually recover well from hand injuries, so I don't give that much weight; if it becomes an annual event, that would be different. Pitchers with good control in the minors generally have a better chance of reaching their ceilings than pitchers who struggle to gain control -- but generally speaking, control pitchers have lower ceilings. But I think Marshall has a higher ceiling than Pinto, so I have to put him ahead.

 

I'd love to see Sergio win the fifth starter spot this upcoming season.

 

Barring a spring training injury to someone else pencilled onto the staff, I don't think it's too likely Mitre will start next season in the rotation (he could fool me with a blowout spring, but the guys with bigger contracts will get preference). But could he finish the year in the rotation? Not farfetched at all.

[UMFan83]

Just got back from today's proceedings. I got there around 8:45 and headed straight for the Boulevard Room for the Cubs business segment. John McDonough, Mark McGuire and others were there answering questions. I got a seat with Jon, Serena, and Mpeel (although we didn't talk, sorry!). John will give you the notes, but the fans asked some hard hitting questions about revenues, Steve Stone randomly, etc. Then we started watching the On the Farm segment with Leicester and Dubois. Dubois got a great great reception and the Ice man got a nice but lesser one. Dave Otto was moderating the event, he let me say he is a horrible public speaker. He seemed to be reading from a script at some points, his voice was crackily (I think he was out late drinking....) and had to ask if the Cubs 2003 pick was Brian Harvey or Ryan. But anyways we skipped out because....

 

Carlos Zambrano made a suprise appearence signing autographs. It was unannounced, although McDonough made a remark about it in his first meeting. Thanks to Jon ducking out early he informed Serena and I that a line was forming and we were able to get a spot in the second row of the line (with Ronnie Woo Woo looking on from the outside of the line). Zambrano came out with huge smiles and an awesome reception from the quickly increasing crowd. The security told us that he didn't have to do this and volunteered to make an appearence because he missed out on Saturday. So we got to the front of the line and Jon, Serena, my friend Matt and I all got to say something to Z and he responded (I got the most face time because I had to repeat my question). I told Zambrano that he should get a Cy Young clause in his new contract and he responded with a smile saying "I should!". Serena and Jon asked more entertaining questions, but I will let them reveal the secrets that Zambrano has unveiled for us later (big news regarding Zambrano's favorite chewable snack :))

 

Anyways, I had a great time, thanks a ton to Mark_R for allowing me to use his ticket for the final day since he could not make it. Now I can't wait for the 2005 season to start!

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Nice report, UMFan. And great teaser for Jon's report later.

 

Now how can I go watch football when I'm eagerly waiting for that. :(

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I do rate Marshall higher than Pinto -- not dramatically higher, but higher. It's possible I could find out things that might change that assessment, but that's where I stand right now. Marshall didn't hurt his pitching arm, and in my experience pitchers usually recover well from hand injuries, so I don't give that much weight; if it becomes an annual event, that would be different. Pitchers with good control in the minors generally have a better chance of reaching their ceilings than pitchers who struggle to gain control -- but generally speaking, control pitchers have lower ceilings. But I think Marshall has a higher ceiling than Pinto, so I have to put him ahead.

 

It's good to see Marshall's injuries won't have a big effect on him. Also, I'd have to note I'm worried about Pinto have some arm injury problems after pitching so much during the summer and winter.

 

What do you see as the ceilings for Marshall and Pinto?

 

Barring a spring training injury to someone else pencilled onto the staff, I don't think it's too likely Mitre will start next season in the rotation (he could fool me with a blowout spring, but the guys with bigger contracts will get preference). But could he finish the year in the rotation? Not farfetched at all.

 

I agree with you; guys like Rusch will definitely get the preference. I'm just rooting for Sergio, I've been a big fan of his ever since I met him in San Diego last season.

 

Thanks for answering my questions, Mark.

 

Nice report, UMFan. And great teaser for Jon's report later.

 

Now how can I go watch football when I'm eagerly waiting for that. :(

 

I might have had a part in it - I told UMF over AIM to keep me in suspense until Jon tells me.

 

Thanks for the full report, UMF.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

I promised that I would come back bearing gifts and I have done so. First of all, I have a bunch of pictures of the planned expansion of wrigley and of Jason Dubois, Jon Leicester, Oneri Fleita, and John Stockstill. Secondly, I will have an audio of the down on the farm section. I brought my microcassette recorder with me and the quality sounds pretty good on the speaker that it has. I actually taped the management section first but forgot to bring a second tape with me. Since Jon took notes from the management section he told me to record the down on the farm section.

 

About Carlos, my friend and I got to the line about 5 minutes before they closed it off. I didn't actually meet him, though, because I left line to get an 8x10 picture for him to sign and was not allowed back in by the ushers. Still, the autograph was plenty for me. I'll take a picture of it and put it with the pics from the management section and of the prospects. Carlos was signing autographs and taking pictures with people for an hour and twenty to forty minutes. I was quite impressed that he showed up and that he stayed for that long. He certainly made my weeked.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

hmm...if anybody knows anything about recording stuff over the microphone in windows let me know either by pm or over aim. I talked to Jon about it but for some reason it isn't working.

[Jon]

I promised that I would come back bearing gifts and I have done so. First of all, I have a bunch of pictures of the planned expansion of wrigley and of Jason Dubois, Jon Leicester, Oneri Fleita, and John Stockstill. Secondly, I will have an audio of the down on the farm section. I brought my microcassette recorder with me and the quality sounds pretty good on the speaker that it has. I actually taped the management section first but forgot to bring a second tape with me. Since Jon took notes from the management section he told me to record the down on the farm section.

 

About Carlos, my friend and I got to the line about 5 minutes before they closed it off. I didn't actually meet him, though, because I left line to get an 8x10 picture for him to sign and was not allowed back in by the ushers. Still, the autograph was plenty for me. I'll take a picture of it and put it with the pics from the management section and of the prospects. Carlos was signing autographs and taking pictures with people for an hour and twenty to forty minutes. I was quite impressed that he showed up and that he stayed for that long. He certainly made my weeked.

I'm glad you got his autograph. I was surprised that he was still signing when I walked by at 12:00 (he started at maybe 11:10). That was nice of him. Apparently, he actually did arrive Saturday morning but wasn't at his autograph session for some reason.

 

I posted a thread about his gum here:

 

Premium

 

Non-Premium

 

I'll post my report in a little bit. I will say that I also got Dubois' autograph on my pass while I was looking for information on the Carlos line. After he signed on stage, he just stood around at signed for more people. Nice guy.

 

Also, my el rides took only 60 minutes each way. I was pleasantly surprised.

[Jon]

hmm...if anybody knows anything about recording stuff over the microphone in windows let me know either by pm or over aim. I talked to Jon about it but for some reason it isn't working.

Make sure in the program you're using that the recording source is set to "microphone" or whatever jack the microphone is plugged into (such as "line in"). Also, open up the Windows volume controls and make sure that source isn't muted.