2) Driving tour of the Civil Rights sites in the US South (Greensboro, Selma, Mongtgomery, Memphis . . .)

I didn't mean you had to put 2). I was just saying Ireland was my first choice :)

3) I'd really love to go to McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica. Don't have a plan quite worked out for that yet, though.

Oops -- it's actually Amundson-Scott RS that I'd like to visit -- South Pole Station.

http://tinyurl.com/2kqlbl

4) Whatever happened to the "Mars" candybar?

Vienna (but I'll be there in three weeks)

I want to go to the Island of Rhodes because that is where my grandparents were from. Over the years, the island has been part of Turkey, Greece and Italy depending on which empire has ruled the land. Right now, it is part of Greece.
Apparently I was told that if I go and tell the inhabitants my last name is Capilouto, I will be treated like a king. My cousin is a LAPD and some guy stopped him one day when he saw his name on his badge and told him that people on Rhodes would love to know that Capilouto's still exist. Most were killed by the Nazi's during WWII, so I guess we are at a premium. So that is where I want to go.

Was that island ever spelled Rhoads. Just wondering?

China. I'd like 8 weeks to see as many of the provinces I could.

7 My sister was in Rhodes this year and loved it.

I need to go to Europe sometime.

I'm having an epic standoff in my head between Brazil and London.

8 I believe it has several different spelling's depending on the language being spoken. In Turkish it is Rodos, Italian it is Rodi and Greek it is Rhodhos. So Rhoads may be another version. I am not sure.

7 She was there on a vacation?

9 sorry I meant to refer that question to posting number 9.

Scotland. London. Venice.

Yes, her and her husband went to Athens, Crete and Rhodes.

Fenway Park - been to Yankee Stadium, Wrigley, old Comiskey, Tiger Stadium, several of the old parks, but never Fenway. I came real close in 2004, when I had tickets to see the Dodgers play there, but ended up in Afghanistan instead.

16
I hate when that happens!

The Alamo Bowl chat on The Griddle has been at a very low level tonight.

17 At least it doesn't happen often, for me anyway.

Do NFL teams even try to block punts?

It doesn't really look like it, and if they're not going to actually try, why have those two guys sort of half rush the kicker? Why not have them better involved in blocking for the run?

In the CBS Sportsline boxscore for the UC: Los Angeles v. Davis basketball game, one player for UC Davis is listed as shooting 4 of 69 for the game and Josh Shipp getting 52 rebounds.

I guess I should have paid more attention.

20
The Bears blocked two punts against the Packers last week and pressured the punter into one bad punt and also made him fumble.

my list is rather long, since I've not really left North America for anything other than Hawaii, but...

1 - Havana
2 - Britain - England and Wales, mainly
3 - Spain
4 - Japan
5 - Australia
6 - Rio
7 - Italy

I'm sure if I thought about it some more, I could think of a few other places.

Wrigley Field. I've driven by it in March, but never attended a game there. My first choice would actually be the moon, but that seems unlikely.

22 Yes, but were they trying to do that?

Prague would be nice.

25
Presumably the Bears were trying to block the kicks. Since the weather was so bad, they wanted to go for the field position edge.

I would guess that a lot of NFL teams would rather set up a return.

Venezuela

24 - http://www.gozerog.com/

Substantially cheaper, and probably safer, than going to the moon. =)

I'd probably just get a trampoline.

There have been 12 blocked punts in the NFL this year. There have been 16 punts returned for TDs.

I could speak more intelligently on this subject if I actually watched football, I'll admit.

Napier, New Zealand.

The city was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1931 and was rebuilt almost entirely in the Art Deco style of the times. It's like a living museum of Art Deco architecture.

30
I'll send Joe Gibbs to your house to give you some pointers. Daniel Snyder said it was OK.

Other places I would like to visit:
Texas Stadium (new or old)
Grand Canyon
Mt. Rushmore
Key West
Beerfest
Paris
Amsterdam
Maria Sharapova's bedroom

I want to visit Mayberry circa 1952 and get a shave at Floyd's. I wouldn't mind running into Thelma Lou and maybe dropping a fishing pole into the pond that Andy and Opie went to often.

Had never heard of Napier, New Z. Cool.

I need to add Easter Island to my list.

And a train ride through Copper Canyon.

Random: Got a ride back from Sta Barbara to SF today so I spent part of it writing up most of my best films of 07 list (which itself also seems kind of random). As expected, Good Luck Chuck is #1.

In a parallel universe where I've been lobotomized, that is.
---
I knew the Giants would give the Pats a good game. We'll see if they can hold on for dear life here.

34
So you want to see Mayberry BEFORE Andy Taylor became sheriff? I don't think Opie was alive in 1952.

34 shoot, I wrote 1952. I meant 1962. Yeah I want to see Mayberry during Andy's reign as Sheriff.

I'm just wondering how you get the fish out if you've dropped your fishing pole into the water.

but then again, do they ever specifically say what decade the show takes place in?

39 it's one of those bait lines they use to catch catfish, hehe.

Presumably, the show took place concurrently with the time it was aired. Although Mayberry was a city in the South that had no civil rights issues. Or even any black residents that I recall.

i would like to go to game 7 of the world series.

43
You know the last Game 7 of the World Series didn't happen too far from L.A.

1) Distrito Federal (for the Aztec pyramids)

2) Salamanca, Spain (I can't think of a reason why I wanna go there except that "The Charro" is said to have there origins from that part of spain)

3) China
4) Egypt
5) France
6) Rome, Italy
7) Greece

ps I have a lot of traveling to do when I retire.

I think the premise of the show is just recalling something that never really was, but that which would be ideal. I would assume with Andy Taylor's well rounded morals, he would have treated black residents with the same respect as the white residents of Mayberry. But television studios back then probably wouldn't have allowed Andy Griffith to touch on issues such as civil rights with a ten foot pole on his show.

Is it OK that I'm rooting for the Patriots? I know Boston is becoming insufferable with all their success in major sports, and I know I shouldn't root for a team with Randy Moss on it, but ... the Patriots are a good team, and being undefeated would be an historic accomplishment.

I just got a chance to sit down finally and catch the last half of the fourth.

Is it OK that I'm rooting for the Patriots?

No.

the Patriots are a good team

Bandwagoner...!

Is it OK that I'm rooting for the Patriots?

Yes.

the Patriots are a good team

You are a wise man, Daniel.

According to MLBTR, the Rockies have Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Taylor Buchholz, Kip Wells and Mark Redman as potential starters. Are they all being considered for the rotation, or are Wells and Redman signed as bullpen arms?

48 I should clarify that I'm rooting for them in this game. I'm not a bandwagoner by any stretch. I'm still oddly, crazily, a Rams fan, even though I've moved from CA to OR and UT and they are in MO.

I always have difficulty remembering the abbreviations for states starting with an "M".

China -- particularly The Great Wall, but I'd like to see as much of it as possible.

One of the things I enjoy most when I travel is public art. For anyone else so inclined, one of my favorites is in LA, the Watts Towers...well, favorite after Dodger Stadium anyway. If you live near there or visit and have never visited the towers, I recommend you take the time to see them. However, do get a map and reverse directions. It is near a neighborhood where I wouldn't want to spend much time lost and looking for the way out.

Dick Cavett has a blog.

http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/

Michigan won the "MI" battle.

Switzerland

42 Miss Krump; I love youuu!--your my motha figure

Earnest tay--Earnest tay? You gotta stop throwing stones at the scholl teachers house.

I am steeling myself for howls of outrage at how the refs gave this game to New England.

I just thought that the Patriots were a lot better than the Giants.

Sweden

44 ahhhh, but i live in nashville. i'm waiting for a special occasion. does anyone know if you can buy a game 7 ticket in advance and can you get a refund if it doesn't happen? i guess most scalpers don't give a refund. is "scalpers" a politically correct term anymore?

59 I don't expect the howls to come from the likes of you.

But that pass interference call, plus the perfsonal foul against Toomer that started out being called the other way should provide enough fodder for America's seekers of football justice.

53 I was there about 4 years ago, it is a terrific site. Is the scaffolding down now?

61
The home team for a potential Game 7 sells the tickets way in advance. You just have to hope the game is played. If it isn't, you get a refund if you bought it through Ticketmaster or Stubhub.

If you buy it from some guy, you are out of luck.

My first three dates with my wife, who I met a few days after she'd moved to LA: Watts Towers, Day at Exposition Park/Grand Central Market, show at the Whiskey.

Places I would love to go...

- Cooperstown

- Greece

- Italy

- England

- Prague

55 I thought maybe the residents spelled their state Mossouri.

Doesn't the whole undefeated thing and being on a par with the '72 Dolphins have to wait until the Patriots win the Super Bowl?

53 Interesting. Until tonight I had never heard of the Watts Towers. I'm always learning on this site.

67
Yes, the Patriots have to go 19-0. Or else Nick Buoniconti will cry.

Or else the Pats are just the 01' Mariners.

A song for Bob.

http://tinyurl.com/ywd79v

Pasadena, Catholics, Vin Scully, and a determined, practical, inscrutable dad all show up.

And though the singer is sitting down, he looks tall.

69, because Jake Scott doesn't cry.

How many of us Nashvillians are regulars here? Twerp, me, and at least one other, I think.

Hypothetical question:

If a team gets caught cheating, which punishment actually compensates the team that was cheated against:

1. Forfeiture of the game
2. Fine paid to league

Greece

65
That is awesome.

From the last thread, get the macbook, check out the prices on amazon for the tv, and my mom got over $400 in Starbucks gift cards. Basically, if you get her any other gift card, you are on her list for a few months.

The Patriots have been so awful for the last five weeks I can't believe they went undefeated and broke the records for TD passes and receptions.

I think they are so burnt out from this they may not go anywhere in the play-offs.

65 - my first date with my wife wasn't exactly a date. My mother was enrolled at CSU Long Beach as a music major, as was Helen. Mom extended an open invitation to her for Thanksgiving; Helen set out for Phoenix to meet with family friends, but after spending one hour going one mile on the 91 (this was somewhere around Fullerton), she decided to turn around and take up my mother on her invitation. And so lousy traffic ended up bagging me a wife.

As far as where I would like to go that I haven't been before...

1) Canada
2) UK
3) Ireland
4) Australia
5) New Zealand

Those sensing a pattern here are correct, for my wife has no desire to go to any country where they don't speak English.

53. Make sure you bring a mask or some really good anti-biotics along with you. I worry about the Dodger players getting sick over there and how they can ever have the Olympics played in that crud they call air. Other than that, it's the best place I've ever travelled to by far. Will be there Sep/Oct-2008 (3rd visit). The history there is just incredible. vr, Xei

76 That is a great story.
77 If she sticks to places like Germany, France, and northern Italy, she'll be fine. I'd hate to miss what's there just because only 1 out of every 2 people speaks English.

71
It's a good song. The singer is probably about 6'1" or so from pictures on his website.

He grew up in Sierra Madre and Palm Springs. His dad must have had some decent money.

I hope my vacation next month allows other people to vicariously visit some places they've never been.

I plan on hitting four big cities: Munich, Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava.

Xei, I think Beijing and Tianjin have the worst air, right? I'd really like to go to the Hubei and Szechuan provinces if I have to choose. I don't think the air is too horrible there. I'd love to see Three Gorges and Wuhan.

Bratislava
Would you take me by the hand
Bratislava
Would you take me by the hand
Can you show me
The shine of your Japan
The sparkle of your china
Can you show me
Bratislava

I'll likely be in Bratislava for only a couple of hours. But it's so close to Vienna, I can go there and cross Slovakia off my list of countries to visit.

Hi! I'm a Mac...Owner.

Now what are all these funny buttons? And why can't I right click?

I'm lost!

82. The pollution probably does differ from area to area. I haven't been to Hubei and Sichuan provinces yet. I hope to visit both on my next visit along with Yunnan province. I have been to Beijing/Tianjin, Hebei province (wife is from there), Shanxi, Shaanxi (Terra cotta soldiers), and Shandong provinces (Tai Shan). I've only skimmed the surface, but each of those places all had terrible air. My guess is that it's atleast pretty bad every where and the water isn't much better. I'm hoping the south isn't as bad. vr, Xei

Can you show me, can you take me,can you show me $--- etc. yeah

Congratualtions Kid from Ed, er I mean, Greg Brock.

I've never been more baffled on a computer in my life.

Zork at seven years old was easier than figuring this thing out.

Maybe useful: http://www.switchingtomac.com/

Also, Tao of Mac: Switching from a PC to a Mac: http://tinyurl.com/6eyup

I would like to go to southern Europe -- Italy, Spain, Greece -- but it's impossible for me to go to Europe without visiting the family in Sweden, so the countries that are farther away from Scandinavia don't get visited.

81 I loved Prague, but Vienna didn't impress me as much. It seemed like it was built using a Generic European City checklist. (Cathedral? Check. Palace? Check. Pedestrian-only main shopping drag? Check...) It didn't seem to have a unique character all its own.

90 Thanks, Sam!

77 You can add the Scandinavian countries to your list. Everyone there speaks English, except a few persons under 10 years old or over 75.

ctrl+click is the right click for Mac. It only took me like a year to figure it out.

92 The second URL is very helpful. Congrats on the switch!

Brazil...ideally with a team of armed guards.
Always wanted to go there. But man, has it gotten dangerous the last few years...

Second choice: Pompei/Herculaneum, Italy.

Taipei and Tel Aviv. But I'm waiting for a teleporter. Or for some third party to pick up first class tickets since both are too far to go with my knees up my nose. Also, I'd want wifi on the plane. On the teleporter, too, I suppose.

85- Krystal and Dawnn say hi.

67 I've been meaning to ask somebody this for a long time and keep forgetting. This seems like the right place:

Why is Missouri the "Show Me" state? What the hell does it mean?

#1 for me, by a long shot, is Cooperstown. Not necessarily on induction weekend, but just to spend a few days and soak in all the history.

62 - So since when is sticking one's fingers into another player's helmet and trying to poke his eye, not penalized AT ALL?

75 - The Jaguars, Chargers, and iirc Browns/Titans must be hoping like crazy that nobody notices this for at least two more weeks...

and the place I would like to go that I haven't before: Dodger Stadium!

98 See Wikipedia on Missouri.

91
But I have to go to Vienna. I believe I still have a claim to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

85 , 94 if you have a Macbook, enable the 2-finger alt-click & scrolling in the System Prefs. They day I learned that is the day I realized the 2nd button (with a trackpad at least) was unnecessary.

2nd (and 3rd) buttons are still very necessary on mice...especially for CS-Source/TF2.

103 Thanks. The learning curve is a tad steep, but I'm scouring the tubes for shortcuts, tips, and tricks.

I still can't get the Firefox icon to load on the the desktop. Weird. But I'm learning.

More importantly, I feel 34.76% more superior than I did four hours ago. Not like those PC users...What nerds!

102 OK, Emperor. May I be so bold as to recommend starting your trip there, rather than ending it there? I believe Vienna is best consumed as an appetizer to prepare your palette for wider conquests, rather than as the main course or as dessert.

105
A little late for that now. My itinerary goes Munich-Prague-Vienna-Munich.

Hiking in Nepal. I'm not interested in summiting Everest, just want to hike in challenging terrain and meet really interesting people.

Then rest the muscles on some sun-soaked beach in Greece. Eat a lot of olives.

Also, Sunday dinner at Vin Scully's with the family.

104 Just drag the icons into the dock. Then if you click and hold the icon when there, it'll give you the option to keep it there...

109 What's the dock? The computer keeps telling me about the dock, now you're telling me about the dock.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT IS THE DOCK!

The dock is the place along the bottom or the side of the monitor where all your program icons are located.

It's like the quick start bar, except obtrusive and swanky.

Quick launch, even.

Let him go Andrew. Brock is off in his car headed to Cupertino and will stand outside the corporate headquarters of Apple yelling "Why did you make this so hard for me?" over and over again until John Hodgman comes out and calms him down.

"We were the first ones to climb Mount Everest," ['72 Dolphins kicker] Yepremian said late Saturday. "If New England comes and does it, then they can be the second ones. But you usually don't remember No. 2. I remember Sir Edmund Hillary was the first one to climb Mount Everest. I don't remember who did it the second time. Do you?"

Quotes like that are why I'm rooting for the Patriots the rest of the way, despite my usual hatred of Boston sports teams. I've never seen a more classless, graceless and pathetic bunch of jerks than the 1972 Dolphins.

If Tenzig Norgay were still alive, he'd go find Yepremian and haul him up to the top of Everest and leave him up there.

Interesting that a few have mentioned China. For those really interested, shoot me an email as I might be able to help. I travel to China weekly (from Hong Kong) for business and have been there quite a few times for pleasure

82, 86: Many Chinese provinces/cities are polluted, especially those with heavy industrial production. Water pollution, unfortunately, is many times worse than air pollution. But there are many beautiful places to visit

Also interesting that no one has mentioned South Africa for game drives there are amazing. Has anyone seen lions mate? The entire process lasts all of one minute, but quite a violent minute...

I would love to visit Argentina or Brazil

Alaska

The Andes

Greek Islands

Norway

Morocco

"I would have liked to have seen Montana"

Name the movie.....

Also, any tips on learning to play guitar?

Australia.

82 Air pollution in Tianjin is worse than Beijing. (Szechuan is bad too.) Many days you can "see" the air. Everyone is coughing. I too wonder how they can clean it up for the Olympics. It is only 7 months away. Don't let the air or the equally awful water scare you away. It is a beautiful country with great people. I think if you go once and you are a bit adventuresome you will want to go back.

1)Mali - the source of American music ! And much more !

2)Albania - The only European country that I haven't yet visited.

3)Venezuela - no comment (rule 5)

119 Hunt for Red October. But sorry no guitar tips.

Places to Visit:
1) India
2) Angkor Wat
3) New Zealand
4) Ngorongoro Crater
5) Costa Rica

Albania!
Albania!
You border on the Adriatic
Your land is mostly mountainous
And your chief export is coal.

Somebody here better remember that song.

119.
Also, any tips on learning to play guitar?
-------
I couldn't tell if this request was serious or just a joke but I'll assume that it was serious (?¿?)
-------
Learn the 14 basic open (string) chords - practice changing from one chord to another - making sure that your fingers are moving efficiently and not four different directions. then apply that to a basic popular tune of your choosing. Paying attention to the rhythms in your right hand is also highly recommended ! And if you're diligent and have the slightest intention of being serious, learn how to read music in first (fret) position. Most people need a teacher (or an enlightened friend) to avoid turning around in circles for 20 years. And there is nothing worse than having to listen to a guitarist with average or slightly to above average musical skills that has been practicing alone for years on end.
---------
----
----------
For anything more than that, it depends what your goals are. It also depends on your stylistic points of reference because there are so many potential directions. In fact it's virtually impossible to find another instrument with as many stylistic (and technical- be it instrumental technique or technological) options:

POSSIBLE STYLISTIC POINTS OF REFERENCE
Jim Hall ?
The Troggs ?
Derek Bailey?
Robert Johnson?
Andres Segovia?
Bill Frisell?
John Fahey?
Catfish Collins ?
Lenny Breau ?
Steve Cropper ?
Ritchie Blackmore ?
Grant Green ?
Jennifer Batten ?
Marc Ducret ?
Chet Atkins ?
Ralph Towner ?
Bob Dylan?
Ben Monder?
Elvis Presley ?
(did he ever really play the instrument,
or was it just air gtr ??)
Kurt Rosenwinkel ?
Bernie Williams ?

or ??

Concrete Blonde's "Joey" is a great beginning guitar song. You only need four chords, which happen to be among the easiest (if not the easiest) to play: G, E minor, C, and D. Plus, you can use the most basic "strum" pattern:

Down-down-up...up-down-up, with this rhythm:

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and

125

That is great advice about the guitar, and I would heed the recommendation about learning to read music in the first fret position. If you just stick with learning chords, than two years down the road you will be wishing you had learned to read the music. Start it now, and you will be very happy you did.

since this has been the random consumer/travel/music talk...

I have a gift card for Best Buy, and I am considering the iPod Touch or upgrading some bookshelf speakers.

Does anyone think the Touch is worth it. Also, I won't do anything until after January 14th to see what Steve Jobs will be changing.

Where else but DT can one learn to play the guitar and find out how much they have in common with a lion than known before.

I wouldn't mind soaking in the Ganges as one of my places to see.

124 - I think it's "krill" not "coal", but I'm not 100% certain.

Bora Bora
Alaska
Grand Canyon

Random Public Service Announcemt:
As of Jan. 1, 2008 in California all gift cards must be redeemable for cash of the same value. Less a $10 servcie charge. At least that is what someone told me. I hope it's true.

My cable and internet have gone out (using my BlackBerry now). I am taking this as a sign to go out to the movies.

Dodger Stadium

134 It's Sunday, you should go to church. :-)

133- Looks like gift cards with a balance of $10 or less can be redeemed for cash. I don't see anything about redeeming gift cards with a balance greater than $10, or anything about a surcharge on cash redemption.

Here's the law:
http://tinyurl.com/2pgwku

In the summer of 2003, Bride of Kavula and I were lucky enough to be in a position where we could quit our jobs and go to Europe for six months. We had never really traveled before -- never did the backpacking thing -- and we knew we wanted all of the bourgeois pleasures of a middle class life (like a house and a kid) that would make such travel impossible in the near future. So we loaded up the backpacks, prepared to meet many drunk/high college students, and set off for the hostels of Europe.

One of the top places I wanted to go was Dubrovnik. I'd heard it had survived the war and was simply beautiful. I'd heard it had to be seen.

That we didn't go is just about the only disappointment of that trip. It was amazing.

So, for me,

1) Dubrovnik

138.
…and Dubrovnik is the closest I have ever been to Albania ! And while you're there, don't miss out on the island of Korçula…

Bob, when you're in Vienna, it's worth checking out the opera. I'm sure you can buy tix in advance, but if you're strong and willing and as cheap as I am, you can get Standing Room tickets in the back. Yes, you stand for the entire opera, but you see opera for three euro -- at least, that's what it cost four and a half years ago.

We saw Les Contes d'Hoffmann and it was awesome.

119 If your trying to learn to play.

Here are my two biggest tips.

- Keep going till you get some big callouses on your finger tips. You'll be tempted to quit before then, but it'll get better.

- Learn a really rudimentary finger exercise like simply going up and down the fret board in a 1-2-3 pattern. This will help develop the finger dexterity you will need.

My ticket for "Don Giovanni" arrived yesterday in the mail. I paid to sit down.

It was not inexpensive, but I figure that I will only go once.

I have to pack a jacket and tie for this trip.

There are so many places I'd like to see. The Thames and the Rhine... Macchu Picchu... The Hermitage... The Great Wall... Easter Island... Lake Geneva... Kilamanjaro...

I really need to get out more. While I've been pretty much everywhere within the 50 states, the only three other countries I've been to are the three closest to the U.S. (Mexico, Canada, and Cuba, so I guess Russia, being the fourth closest country, is next.)

On Eric's list, I've been to the Hermitage (wear comfortable shoes as it's huge), the Rhine (non-scenic parts though in Northern Germany), and Easter Island (unlike any place you will ever go or have ever seen).

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) takes a lot of effort to get to. You will also be required to wear a large red fanny pack.

I hate fanny packs.

My mom's one place she had never been was Washington DC. So, my brother and my dad took her there in June 1993. She loved it. She loved seeing all the historical sites and monuments and even joined the tedium of a House session.

And two months later, she passed away. But she finally got to see the one place in America that had always eluded her.

For a trip to the Hermitage without leaving your couch, rent the movie Russian Ark.

It is a movie made in one take (!) that tours through many, many rooms of the museum.

I bet Andrew wears a fanny pack.

Once, an a school field trip, they tried to make me wear a fanny pack. I said: no, no, no.

Impressive.

147 I have to admit I didn't care much for Russian Ark, as the gimmick got in the way of the actual movie too much. But the shot at the end where they zoom out the doorway (or was it a window) into the Baltic Sea was amazing. Except later I found out it wasn't filmed in the same take with the rest of the movie but was digitally smoothed over to appear that it was.

I suppose because of my mom and my numerous viewings of "It's a Wonderful Life", I am a firm believer in going on a trip somewhere that you really want to go once you have the chance. Don't waste time. You may end up having to run the building and loan.

151 I would agree that the movie, as a movie, is only moderately successful.

But I saw it just before I went to the place, and that was interesting to me.

152 Not that that's such a bad thing. If you don't run the building and loan, Violet Bick could end up a prostitute.

And as for me, dig me! [ka-ching!] I'm handin' out wings!

You may end up having to run the building and loan

And with four annoying little kids. Though, your wife is attractive, so that makes up for some of it. But, really, once you have the kids, the attractiveness of the wife probably isn't gonna matter all that much.

When I was in Saint Petersburg, my father would not participate in my plan to reenact the storming of the Winter Palace Eisentstein-style.

My dad hated montages.

I wouldn't mind going to the other St. Petersburg either, as it's the only major league city I've never been to.

I guess we know which side of the family the no-fun gene comes from.

By myself, put me somewhere in Alaska in a Kayak surrounded by an Orca pod watching glaciers crash into the sea.

With my wife, it would have to be Spain.

152 "I am a firm believer in going on a trip somewhere that you really want to go once you have the chance"

Absolutely. When I was in Paris in 1984 I wanted a beer more than I wanted to go inside Notre Dame, so that day I sat outside at a cafe across the river from the place and people-watched, drinking Kronenburg or something. I thought I'd get back to Paris and be able to go inside the next time.

23 years later, I still haven't seen the interior of Notre Dame de Paris.

This discussion is related to the one over here http://tinyurl.com/2c57t6 about passports, so I'll ask: who here has a passport? Mine expired and I've had no need to renew it, regrettably.

I got a passport this summer. We're hoping to go to Italy in May-June, after I hopefully graduate.

I have a passport. I used in in Denmark this year.

I also used it in Mexico City in 1989. Those are the only two genuine foreign places I've been.

I have a passport, now expired, that was issued by the Swiss Embassy because my passport was stolen in Cuba and obviously, there was no U.S. embassy there to issue me a new one.

To state the obvious, I would strongly recommend never losing your passport in Cuba. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "red tape."

To make things even more comical, I was violently ill, as sick as I've ever been, when I went to the Swiss Embassy to get a temporary replacement passport. My throat was so sore that I literally couldn't talk and I had to communicate with the guy there via quickly jotted notes. I was in such a foul mood that I look like a serial killer in the mug shot on my passport.

160 Some of the best times I had on my trip were times when I said enough to the tourist stuff and stopped in somewhere and had a beer and people watched. Seeing the inside of Notre Dame was cool, but so was sitting a few blocks away on the Seine and overpaying for a cup of cafe.

Regarding passports:

I tend to be highly strung. I worry a lot about things. That's something you need to know before the story begins.

So we decide that we're going to go to Russia as part of this trip. To go to Russia, you need a visa -- it was the only place we planned to go that required one.

To get a visa to visit Russia, we were told, you have to prove that you have accommodations. (Is this actually true? Doesn't matter -- it's what we were told at the time.) So we said that we planned to stay in Moscow for three nights, here's our hotel info; and in St. Petersburg for four nights, here's our hotel info; and we are going to take the night train out of SP to Tallinn, Estonia.

To get the visa, you have to give them your passport for a while -- they paste the visa directly into it. We had to set all this up in advance -- we were going several places before going to Russia -- and the office getting the visa could not seem to grasp what the big hurry was. It's only April and you're not visiting until June -- what's the rush? But we got our passports back with hours and hours to spare before our flight to Paris and everything was hunky dory.

Until I read this in our guidebook: "If you are taking the night train out of St. Petersburg to Tallinn, make sure that your visa does not expire until the day after the train leaves. The train will cross the border after midnight and you should not give the border guards any reason to hassle you." Three guesses on which day our visa expired. Yep, the day the train left. So we would be crossing the border with expired visas.

This caused me no small amount of concern.

So now it's after midnight and we're on the Estonia border with expired visas. And the border guard comes on board and starts going through our things. It's a fairly cursory search. We give our passports to a different guard. He looks at the visa. He looks at his date stamp. He turns his stamp back one day (so that the stamp will match the last day on the visa), shakes his head and mutters, "Amerikanskis" (I kid you not!), and ka-chunk, stamps our visas.

Nothing happened. Which is what I try to remember now when I worry too much about stuff. If we got out of Russia, this will be OK, too.

165 Yeah, I suppose. I just thought I'd have another opportunity to see Paris by this time.

On the bright side, the cafe was two blocks from the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which I'd just been browsing through.

Mention of passports prompts me to chime in, especially since I haven't been able to follow DT closely for a good while, let alone comment.

That's because as somewhat of a WW II buff, I'd want to visit Normandy and see the invasion landing sites. I'd also want to visit some of the German concentration camp sites, or what's left of them. Sorry if mentioning them is a downer for anyone.

Sushi, if you're around, you mentioned this last thread...I also think there may have been another commenter to mention being in Nashville. Don't recall the screen name.

Not sure of any others in TN. Seems like there's one in Memphis. Maybe Weatherman?

I'd forgotten that there was still NFL football outside of the Patriots. Then after watching some of the Browns-49ers game I'm thinking maybe there isn't.

The Niners with their 4th string QB and porous line...

My passport expired and I couldn't get a new one in time to take an impromptu trip to Mexico earlier this year, alas.

153
Reminds me of watching "Stripes" right before I headed to Ft. Knox for basic training in 1991.

Fenway Park. I have never been to Boston, so it would give me a chance to see what I understand is a great city. If I ran the Red Sox I would put a team in the independent Atlantic League and base them at Fenway so that people could have a chance to see a baseball game at Fenway in the summer whether or not the Sox were at home.

Stan from Tacoma

Apropos of nothing, I would like to say that the Wayback Machine at www.archive.org is maybe the most useful tool on the interwebs.

16 171
I'll meet you there. Do you like Irish beer?

172- If you're using Firefox, you can integrate it into your context menu (with a few other web cache archives) using Resurrect Pages. Which is handy.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2570

171 Two of the Red Sox' farm teams basically play in suburban Boston (Lowell and Pawtucket), so you'd think they'd take better advantage of scheduling games at Fenway for those teams. I think they play maybe one game each per year at Fenway.

Twerp, I'm always around (DT and Coca-Cola are my only real addictions) sometimes I don't post for awhile, though, because I know I really don't add much.

Although... driving in Boston was an absolute pain for me, so I recommend cabbing and walking. And the Aquarium there is (was) really nice. I didn't expect Cooperstown to be that much, but I really liked it, too, and you don't need a passport to get there (yet).

Places I would really like to go: 1.Switzerland
2. A WS game in Dodger Stadium
3. An NFL game in LA

Most surprising place I have been: There is a Starbucks inside the walls of the Forbidden City (Former home of Chinese Emperors from 1420-1910) in Beijing. The coffee was good.

Most fun place I have been: Dublin

166 Great story. I am also paranoid, especially about my passport, so I'm one of those nerds that buys a pouch you wear around your neck and tuck under your shirt, specially sized to carry your passport.

I always keep my passport current, like any good professor, in case I should get a paper accepted at a conference in some exotic locale.

When ever I leave the country, the first thing I do is sell my passport. That way I don't have to worry about losing it, and I've got plausible deniability if the State Department ever catches wise--I'm just a tourist; I thought he really was the Passport Inspector!

One of the things I had to give up as my excursion through the federal justice system began was my passport.

I had been such a workaholic and daddy-o, I hadn't left the USA since 1990. Figured I'd get back to traveling some day, but I had to keep my nose to the grindstone.

Now, whenever this thing ends, first thing I'm going to do is go to the Post Office, get a passport and start planning a trip. Somewhere. Anywhere. If we're all still hanging around this little oasis by then, I'll ask for recommendations.

164. That is exactly why I had both my Uruguayan and American passports when I went to Havana and kept them in seperate places. The only areas of the world that I've never been to are China, India, and the non-Mediterrenean parts of Europe. I doubt that I'll get to any of those anytime soon, or even get to revisit my favorites for quite some time.

I got to go to a game at Fenway in 1988. Unfortunately it was against the Angels. Boston is the only city I've been in where it appeared that driving on the sidewalk was encouraged.

The world's greatest obituary editor has died:

http://tinyurl.com/2kq7t9

#1 Sam in DC

While it's probably not on anyone's list of places they want to visit; the Civil Rights Museum in downtown Birmingham ,Alabama is a very powerful experience. It's a panorama which includes newsreel, photos, video, memorabilia documenting the era. It finishes with a film of Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech.
For added authenticity it is right next to the Baptist church that the rednecks dynamited.
So if you're on Interstate 65 and Interstate 20 exit at 14th Street in Birmingham and follow the signs.

From Diamond Leung's blog:

"Free-agent reliever Chin-hui Tsao has signed a minor-league contract and been invited to spring training with the Royals, according to reports out of Taiwan. Also of note is that Tsao, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury with the Dodgers last season, apparently dropped agent Scott Boras and is now with CSMG, which represents Dodgers Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-lung Hu."

Ireland
Argentina
Japan

168
I have a passport. When your an army brat you tend to have such things. My wife hates it when she mentions some place and I say "I've been there".
The last place I used it was France and after a few days in Paris we hit the road to Normandy. My wife's, mothers brother, who adopted my wife and helped raise her during her early years was a radio operator who landed at Normandy. The cementaries are the only thing left that gives you any idea what happened. It is still moving to look from the cliffs down upon the beaches.
Contrary to popular belief I found the French to be very friendly. During the trip I lost my wallet in Rouen, and a Frenchmen made a huge effort to find me and returned the wallet. I guess the only complaint we had about the trip was my wife had studied French but they never allowed her to use it as everyone spoke English and didn't want to waste time trying to understand her limited French skills. We finally got into a small village that was completely French and it was that point, that we realized how lucky we had been that everyone had spoken English upto that point. She switched to Spanish and all was well.

[http://tinyurl.com/yr7pje]

Maybe it was shear luck on my side (thinking Saito was a good pitcher for the blue when hardly anybody saw it that way) I saw him pitch & noticed batters were baffled at his pitches or maybe it was blind faith in the blue no matter what it was I'm glad he is wearing Dodger blue. I really feel we've be a much different team with out him.

Apologies if this was mentioned earlier but Tim Raines was interviewed by ESPN. This is a question that might interest Dodger fans.

Keri: Are there any players now that remind you of yourself, or Henderson?

Raines: The closest guy to the two of us is [Jose] Reyes. It's hard to come up with another. Most leadoff guys don't really have that combination of power, speed, the ability to drive runners in -- all the things you need to have a prototypical leadoff man. Someone like Juan Pierre, he doesn't have much power, he's a slap hitter; he's not going to drive many runs in. He steals a lot of bases and he doesn't strike out much, but he also doesn't walk much. As a leadoff man, you need to get on base one way or another, whether it's a hit or a walk or some other way.

http://tinyurl.com/36n5m2

Emphasis mine.

I spent a day out at Arclight and I saw "There Will Be Blood." I liked it, but not at Marty-like levels.

I was worried you were throwing the Liberty Bowl under the bus. When two 6-6 teams match up, um, one of them is bound to win.

Oops. Independence, not Liberty.

The mayor of Shreveport is coming to your house, Andrew.

I've seen him on TV. He's a large man.

This was in Jeff Passan's new column on Yahoo, on New Year's resolutions for various baseball-related folks:

>>Brad Penny, Barry Zito, Russell Martin, Carl Pavano: We resolve not to date Alyssa Milano again.<<

http://tiny.cc/G8YzS

190

Hey Bob, do you have to get the tickets in advance or can you just show up & by the tickets there.

1.) europe; mainly switzerland and amderstdam
2.) china
3.) australia

i just switched jobs so i'm losing all my vacation which really sucks. i cant even go on the annual family ski trip in march. good thing i checked dodger stadium off my list this summer.

195
You probably could have walked up and bought a ticket for today's show. But there's no service charge to buy it online, so I opted for security.

190 I have to admit I seemed to be naturally inclined to like Anderson's movies and overlook/forgive any flaws.

Anyone a hockey fan? Ned Colletti was with the Ducks on their 3 game road trip through Canada. Apparently he's good friends with Brian Burke (Duck's GM) and actually attended a lot of games last season. You could tell he knew his hockey when they interviewed him, which made me wonder if he's in the wrong sport. All in all, it was a strange 15 minutes seeing both of my sports worlds colliding.

Ducks lost 1-2 against the Canucks by the way :(.

I travel to China weekly (from Hong Kong)

Doesn't Hong Kong = China at this point? I'm assuming the lingo differs depending on whether you are in, say, Beijing v. Kowloon?

My passport expired 10 years ago.

Thanks Preacherroe.

166 Yes, it is true you need to have accomodations to visit Russia before they issue a visa. Russia was the most difficult place to arrange a visit for, but it so totally worth it. The Hermitage in St. Petersburg is the best art museum on the planet. Catherine the Great had a great sense of art and bought up so much great work, that museum makes the trip to Russia worth it by itself. Peter the Great's summer palace, Peterhoff, is worth the trip in itself also. Moscow's Red Square with the Kremlin nearby is also worth the effort. I managed to get a guided tour of the armory (make it happen if you go!) and they hold the Faberge eggs and amazing random treasures like Ivan the Terribles throne. The outside of St. Basil's can be stared at for hours. And anywhere east of Prague is very inexpensive to travel around.

BTW, I have a well used passport that was renewed just last year. However, since having children, I haven't been out of the country.

I would love to go to Egypt. I wanted that as the honeymoon vacation, had the wife talked into Turkey as a compromise, then there were a few bombings and her mother freaked (over nothing really) and we went to Jamaica instead. Jamaica! It was a nice beach, but I want exotic travel if possible.

The "There Will Be Blood" soundtrack was done by Jonny Greenwood, the youngest member of Radiohead. His brother Colin plays bass. Jonny is one of the lead guitars but plays a slew of instruments.

203
The soundtrack involves a lot of violins. The score was very good and knowing the proclivity of Oscar voters, it stands almost no chance of winning, let alone getting nominated.

Did John Williams score anything this year?

189 Raines is sort of making Colletti's point, too, isn't he? It's not as if he passed up better leadoff hitters and picked Pierre. Not to defend the signing, God knows. But what Raines is really saying is the complete-package leadoff hitter is extremely rare these days.

Actually, Raines might have mentioned Furcal. Healthy, that guy fits Raines' criteria. He mostly lacks the flamboyance that Raines and Henderson brought to their jobs. (Raines also overlooked Ichiro.)

Perhaps, then, Colletti's biggest mistake was thinking Furcal could be improved upon by Pierre.

No matter what else you think of it, "Sweeney Todd" has the best score ever in a gory movie.

187 Toy, the wife and I made it to Normandy for the first time in 2002. We were scheduled to spend the night at the beach but it was too creepy to consider once we toured the area. We ended up daytripping and going back to Paris that night.

My grandmother lost her brother in the North Atlantic on a Coast Guard cutter. They cut ice so support ships could get through and they were sunk. No German u-boat claimed the sinking after the war and it is now assumed that they hit a floating mine.

As my grandmother was near the end, we did a ceremony for her brother at the American Cemetery at Normandy. His body was never recovered.

My father was at Guadalcanal. I should see that if possible. Can you make trips to that island?

208
Check with your friends at the Solomon Islands Tourism Department.

http://tinyurl.com/2meu3m

63 Marty, the last time I was there was August 2006 and there was still some scaffolding at that time. I think the nature of the artform kinda means that it will always require maintenance.

65 Sam, you're much too classy for us. It was the 60's, my wife was a go-go dancer and our first three dates were after she got off work, hanging out in all-night bars. How's that for romantic. Worked out though, we just celebrated our 40th anniversary.

78 Xei, we'll just go w/a tour, probably a cruise that includes the 3 gorges and The Wall. we have zero China experience, well, zero Asia experience actually, and don't speak the language at all, so we're inclined to play it safe, realizing that means we'll probably miss the really great things. If you have some advice, I'd love to hear it. davmack@gmail.com

117 dodger from hong kong, I'd love to hear what you have to tell me about China. See above to Xei, I have never been there, know nothing.

Also, you mentioned Africa and that is next on our wish list. However, I heard something disturbing recently and since you've been, maybe you can tell me the straight scoop. I was told by an acquantance who made his first visit this summer, that camps are not protected from lions at night. He said they actually come into the camps and roam among the tents because they think humans are predators like them so they don't attack.

What's the real story?

Thanks everyone. May your travel dreams come true - not the nightmares, just the dreams.

There Will Be Blood was the best first half of a movie I've seen this year. The second half was disappointing.

211
I know I certainly don't want to go bowling ever again.

Anyone planning on attending the Rose parade and get a glimpse of the Dodgers float?

I am being talked into going. My brother and sister-in-law are camping out the night before and saving us a spot. Unless the Santa Anas are really gusting, I will probably go. I'm not crazy about the parade (and waking up early) but the lure of lunch in the San Gabriel area at a Chinese restaraunt talked me into it.

vr, Xei

212 - I didn't have a problem with that scene, though.

213
The Santa Anas don't blow in Pasadena because the mountain passes keep them from hitting the area. If it's windy in Pasadena, the wind is coming from the south. There are really only a handful of windy days all year here and the wind blows mostly at night.

That is not to say it won't be cold on Colorado Boulevard in the morning, but if you dress in layers, you will be fine.

The parade is interesting to go to once. I've done my tour of duty back in 1992. I think your bigger concern will be finding a place to park and finding a good spot to stand. Your best views will be toward the end of the route, but by that time, floats have broken down, bands are tired, and Queen Dusty's waving technique may be a bit off.

If you watch at the end of the route, you don't have to get there as early. And you will be closer to San Gabriel to boot.

214
But it's the scene I remember. Sort of like the scene between Maria Bello and Viggo Mortenson on the wooden staircase in "A History of Violence."

Of course "Atonement" has really turned me off about using bookcases for alternate uses.

What's the difference between Maria Bello and Téa Leoni?

215. Bob, thanks for the advice. We already have a pre-paid parking spot and someone reserving us a front row seat. All we have to do is wake up early and drive down. I hope you are right about the wind. If not, you might find a bag of peaches on your doorstep! :)
vr, Xei

217
They don't look much alike to me.

199 Ned was with the Ducks heh...? That means he's in my fair city of Vancouver tonight... Maybe I should head down to the cowboy boot/white tie emporium and see if I can't run into him.

And yes, my Canucks beat the Ducks in a thrilling 2-1 game. :)

218
If it's windy, the winds won't be Santa Anas. That's my only promise.

You had to talk about wind tonight? I shoveled my sidewalks this morning, and then the day got very windy and now all the snow has been blown back onto the sidewalks. If I had a dead-to-me list, wind would be on it.

Just a plug for "3:10 To Yuma". Boy Howdy, what a show.

And a place to go?
Guess, I'd go for Scotland or Alaska.

I want to be at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley someday just after a winter snow.

221
Always a chance of wind in Pasadena with El Toreo nearby.

200 Sam in DC: Doesn't Hong Kong = China at this point? I'm assuming the lingo differs depending on whether you are in, say, Beijing v. Kowloon?

While this is how the Chinese government would like everyone to think, there are many practical obstacles standing in the way of a real integration. Many examples: China and Hong Kong citizens carry different passports, we use different currencies, many mainland Chinese still are not allowed to visit Hong Kong, etc

210 Dave: I hope you have received my email about your China trip

On Africa. Yes, lions/etc can get very close to the camps. In fact, a large elephant walked through our camp when we were having lunch one day. The elephant was quite harmless; lions would have been a different story. We were told that the campsites do everything they can to deter the predators:
1) Campsites are well lit in the evenings. We were told that lions/etc are quite afraid of lights/fire
2) Native hunters/trackors/professionals are on site at all times to deal with dangerous species

220

Found an article!
http://tinyurl.com/yugmz6

"Burke, former president and general manager of the Canucks, is almost the unofficial mayor of Vancouver. And at the game, he was entertaining Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, who has been following the Ducks on this three-game trip to western Canada with several of his staff members. Colletti, who in his sportswriting days covered the Philadelphia Flyers, said this was both indulging in his "great love of hockey" and a Dodgers "team-building exercise."

"This is the one week out of the year where baseball slows down," he said."

Canucks:

My niece is attending University of Vancouver. What is the school's reputation?

Thanks.

The Santa Anas blow up in Altadena. I've had 300 feet of fence and a gate blow down in the 6 years I've been here. Just the other day I found a trash can on my porch from someone up hill of me.

Just the other day I found a trash can on my porch from someone up hill of me

http://media.lvrj.com/images/1753162.jpg

I just don't know what it is with the commenters like Marty these days. Don't get me wrong, the guy's got talent. But he doesn't seem to appreciate what it means to be here.

Should I have put a smiley with that?

If anyone here is interested in a Sunn Orion Preamp there is one for sale here locally.

Ha! I didn't make the Kemp connection. It all makes sense now. Stupid rookies.

228
But Altadena is not Pasadena and is much closer to the mountains and has some convenient passes to allow Santa Anas to blow through.

I remember some Santa Anas in Pasadena though. Back in the 90's there was a particularly bad one in January where whole blocks of trees blew down in west Pasadena.

Places I would like to go:

Dubai
Maldives
Japan

Place I've been that I really liked but didn't think I would:

Grenada

234
I remember that day vividly. Those were very high winds, but they weren't a Santa Ana condition. They were really cold and blew up from the south. They knocked out power to most of South Pasadena.

Except for my block, which was very strange.

235

Dubai is a place that I would have never even considered visiting until recently. A few weeks ago I watched a documentary on the building of the Burj Al Arab hotel - absolutely amazing. I had never thought about having an "official" life list before, but after watching that I put together a quick one.

1. Stay at the Burj Al Arab hotel
2. Go to Machu picchu
3. Take wife to New York/New England in the fall (she's never been to NYC)
4. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with my girls

I can vouch for the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. I didn't get to spend enough time there; I hope to go back soon.

Machu Picchu is just not that great a destination. I didn't care for it, and I know very few people who were not disappointed by it.

224 I want to be at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley someday just after a winter snow.

I did that last week. It's quite nice.

227 There is no such place as the "University of Vancouver". If your niece is at UBC - University of British Columbia - that's a very fine university, with a very high reputation. Third in Canada, must rank with the top 30 or so in North America. If she's at Simon Fraser University, also in Vancouver, that's pretty decent too. If anywhere else, unknown.

238 - I add a vouching.

227 -- University of Vancouver? No such thing exists. Do you mean the University of British Columbia (which is in Vancouver)? I haven't heard anything bad about it. The thing about Canadian universities is that they do not vary widely in quality like American universities. There are no Canadian "Ivy Leagues" and there are no Canadian universities that people dismiss as party schools or degree mills.

Is your niece Canadian? It is not unheard of for Americans to come up to Canada to go to school, but I always wonder why they bother. If they intend to return to the US to look for jobs, having their degrees from Canadian schools that prospective employers in America haven't heard of probably amounts to a handicap in the job market.

A few years ago, we decided on New Year's Eve that we would try to see the parade the next morning... but we woke up on New Year's Day at the time the parade started.

We got in the car and drove to the end of the parade route. After a little searching, we were able to find a parking spot in the residential neighborhood -- maybe a half-mile or mile away. (A walk, but not too bad.) We walked to the end of the parade route, squeezed our way into the small crowd, and got settled just as the parade reached us.

On the whole, I agree with Bob: see it once, but no need to go every year or anything.

244
If you go to the parade this year, you can listen to Marty and I argue about the nature of winds in the West San Gabriel Valley.

243 "The thing about Canadian universities is that they do not vary widely in quality like American universities." That's nonsense, as I'm sure you will realize after a moment's thought. McGill University in Montreal and the University of Toronto are Ivy-league equivalent, with UBC not too far behind. French-speaking Université de Montréal similar. There are lots of decent mid-ranked universities, and lots of mediocre ones too.

Everyone in academia has "heard of" the good universities, and a degree from McGill or U of T will outrank all except the most exclusive Ivy league US universities. A UBC degree will do the niece just fine.

241 -- Are you talking about the MacLean's magazine annual university rankings? Canadian universites pretty much scoff at those. They change so much every year.

Simon Fraser University is my alma mater, by the way. Depending on the American movie or television show, it has been passed off as many different things, including FBI headquarters (a season one X-Files episode), NASA (one of the I Dream of Jeannie movies in the '90's), a city inhabited by a technologically-advanced species on a far-away planet (a Stargate SG-1 episode), and a market in a city soon destroyed by Cylons (the Battlestar Galactica mini-series that preceded the weekly series), and that's just off the top of my head.

246 -- I don't know, it depends what doors you want to open in the US. If we are talking about getting into an American graduate school it is not a problem, because Canadian university graduates are well respected at American universities, but for the regular job market, in the American business world? I don't think the reputation of Canadian universities is well known in that world.

246 -- And I was talking about the quality of undergradute education, when I said all Canadian universities are about the same, compared to the quality of undergraduate education at American universities. And it was the AMERICAN professors who always said that, at my school. The differences emerge once you get into the realm of graduate and professional schools. Unless an awful LOT has changed since I was a university student, and I'm not THAT old.:)

Brian Billick, who guided the Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV in 2000, was fired Monday after Baltimore limped through a 5-11 season that included a nine-game losing streak. Less than a year ago, the Ravens gave Billick a contract extension through 2010.

Brilliant management there, guys.

My NFL postseason picks:

Wild Card playoffs:

Seattle over Washington
NY Giants over Tampa Bay

Jacksonville over Pittsburgh
San Diego over Tennessee

Divisional playoffs:

Dallas over NY Giants
Green Bay over Seattle

New England over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over San Diego

Conference Championships:

Green Bay over Dallas
New England over Indianapolis

Super Bowl XLII:

New England over Green Bay

New England over Indianapolis

Help me Obi Wan Manning: you're my only hope.

249 It's quite possible that the quality of undergraduate education amongst Canadian universities is spans a smaller range than amongst American universities - the median could be higher, with a smaller proportion of poor teaching, but without the superlative small exclusive liberal-arts colleges that exist in the US. But I don't suppose that many people outside university professors would be too aware of that.

If you meant, as you say in 148 , in the "regular job market" of US business - I can't imagine that many people there really concern themselves with undergraduate vs. graduate education. They will know the "name schools" where the reputation is a composite, mostly based on graduate and professional education since that's what faculty reputation is concerned with, and long-term ancient history. They will also have favorite schools with whom they are familiar because they have been recruiting from these for some years, and may send out recruiting teams there. Here, yes, graduates from Canadian universities, especially the mass of middle-ranking schools, may lose out. I still think that someone from McGill or U of T would do just fine with a discriminating business.

Sam, I don't know if this is public yet (and certainly not surprising) but President Bush will be throwing out the first pitch at the Nat's new stadium opening. Apparently, W asked before the Nats could offer.

President Bush will be throwing out the first pitch at the Nat's new stadium opening. Apparently, W asked before the Nats could offer

A "preemptive strike"

Taking a family trip this spring to Rome and Florence and then to Israel (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). Been to Isreal but any suggestions for Rome and Florence would be appreciated.

any suggestions for Rome...would be appreciated

Figure out what the Romans do, and then do that.

251 I honestly wouldn't be suprised to see either Jacksonville or San Diego knock the Pats out of the playoffs. I know it seems improbable but these are the facts I'm using:

1. New England has a pass-happy, verticle offense.
2. The Pats have clinched home-field throughout the playoffs and the weather is terrible in New England this time of year (not so good for pass-oriented offenses).
3. Both The Jags and Chargers have depth and talent in their running games (good for bad weather games).
4. Taylor/Jones-Drew or Tomlinson/Turner could conceivably carry the ball 40-50 times in a game (which means clock control if they can get an early lead).

I know that SD and Jacksonville may not get the chance to face New England but if they do the perfect season could be in jeopardy.

A network problem at work has wiped out my bookmarks.

I will pause for a moment of silence to mourn them.

Thank you.

way to go out on a limb there silver

257 what's the movie where the guy keeps misusing the phrase, "when in rome?"

260 what's the movie where the guy keeps misusing the phrase, "when in rome?"

Anchorman?

thanks wrong, i thought it was a will ferrel movie. after checking imdb, i answered my own question.

256 If your kids like rice krispie treats, take them here, Il Gelato Vivoli, in Florence, its near the marketplace, I can't tell you where it is exactly but if you are like most people I tell about, you just walk down those narrow streets, turn a few corners and then you will see a line of people, that will be the place. Get the rizzo (rice) gelato, you won't be disappointed.

If you are going to see "David", try to get a reserved time or even take a tour, it will get you in and out faster. I would say the same about the Vatican, not that you can't stand in line but tours get priority.

I'll get the name of a great restaurant in Rome I went to, it was one of the best meals I ever had.

Thanks, CanuckDodger, for your response at #243. I guess that I had the name wrong. Niece is a U.S. citizen, so I, too, wonder why she went there.

When in Crete, do as the Cretins do.

way to go out on a limb there silver

Rule 7?

266
In an unusual ruling by the courts, it was declared a Rule 9 violation.

It was the emanating penumbras of "describe."

When in Philistia do as the Philistines do.

Sara Jane Moore was paroled today. I hope the streets are ready for a 77-year old would be presidential assassin.

Re #253 and University of British Columbia. Thanks, Berk, for the added info. My brother-in-law tells me University of British Columbia, Vancouver is one of the top five research universities in the world. This sounds apochryphal, though he is a truth teller. It might be something he was told. Niece is studying International Relations. Went to the school because neighbor down the street had gone there, too. Logic of this is obscure but, then, these are teenagers.

270 Let us hold out hope for Lynette Fromme.

Or not.

Is it possible that the "when in Rome" statements were spoken in "Oh Brother where Art Thou?"?

Anchorman does use the "when in Rome" phrase a couple of times in the movie.

273
Pretty sure the whole "when in Rome" thing was on "The Office" and Michael Scott was the one that kept misusing the term.

Free Squeaky!

276 Free Leslie Van Houten

Squeaky was just a JV Manson member. Leslie was varsity, with a letterman's jacket. I doubt they are going to release my old neighbor.

No, UBC is a good school (and really big).

When the Canadian dollar was weaker it was actually a really good cost decision for Americans to come up and go to school here.

Also, Colorado Rockies ace Jeff Francis is a proud UBC Thunderbird alumni.

278 I like to hitch my wagon to lost causes.

I'm still holding out hope for a third Jake Gittes flick, after all.

Fast fact from the Baseball Almanac

http://tinyurl.com/3x3xbc

-"The University of British Columbia's baseball program started in part with seed money from Ryan Dempster, Larry Walker and Jeff Zimmerman and Jeff Francis was their first player to make it to the Major League level."

159 . Once, in a bar in Port Hueneme/Oxnard, an urchin diver told me a harrowing story about being attacked or probably, rather, toyed with, by an orca. He said the thing sort of heaved him through the water with its fluke (flipper?). Fortunately for him his dive partner on the boat was able to haul him out of the water immediately after that. He also claimed to have witnessed orcas clambering over a sandbar in order to attack sea lions inside of a small lagoon at one of the Channel Islands.

My point is that I would feel a bit leery being in a kayak with orcas frolicking nearby, although I'm sure you were just painting an image of an ideal vacation. When we watched orcas it was from a party-boat and quite enjoyable.

1. Sardinia
2. Malta
3. Monaco
4. Uruguay
5. Japan

1. Sardinia
2. Malta
3. Monaco
4. Uruguay
5. Real Madrid v. Barcelona at the Bernebeu

283 284
Those #5 choices are quite different.

263. BHSports, thanks for your response. I am going with the kids so I will definitly check out Gelato Vivoli. If you can think of the restaurant that would be great. "One of the best meals I ever had" is a pretty good endorsment.

I have zero recollection of Sara Jane Moore. I had to google her, Squeaky I remember.

[282 ]
Not to discount what an Orca could do if so inclined but I'd be more worried about some ex-ballplayer or female celeb or idiot teen driving in my area under some bizarre belief that they are bulletproof from the effects of drugs and alcohol while driving a murder weapon. Quite a few people will not see the New Year tomorrow.

I really hope someone knocks out the Patriots.

I'd urge folks to click over and read Cardboard Gods on Rickey Henderson and the New Year. Great stuff.

And a happy new year to you all.

289 Thanks for the tip.

Happy New Year everybody!

289 290

yeah, Happy & safe New Year everybody.

Wishing a very happy 2008 to all.

Happy New Year's everyone. I'm off to friends to drink expensive Champagne.

Happy New Year Dodger faithful. Happy New Year Jon and family.

May the boys in blue prosper abundantly this year.

256 Buy a Rick Steves guide and do what he tells you to do.

251 I think Washington beats Seattle.

Flip to ESPN if you'd like to see a man possibly die in a horrendous motorcycle jumping accident.

You know you want to.

I just tuned into NBC at 11:59 and Alex Rodriqez shows up. What PR,

Happy 2008 everybody!!!

It's the New Year in ET. They didn't ask Alex about Scotso Boras. Let me wish most of you Happy New Years about 3 hours early!

It's the New Year in ET. They didn't ask Alex about Scotso Boras. Let me wish most of you Happy New Years about 3 hours early!

Ahh, they even have Amy Robot here.

Wow, 2008 feels totally different. You West Coasters don't know what you're missing.

270,272 I'm watching my back for Sarah Jane and perhaps Squeaky, but I also hear the ghost of T. Norgay is stalking members of the 72 Dolphins, with good reason. Didn't Hillary and Norgay agree to never reveal if one of them reached the summit first?

302

Hey, at least we're a few hours younger than you! ;o)

I'm off to a 'Dena house party....Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for providing me with such an
"Edu-taining" 2007....

Be safe tonight:)

302 Are there flying cars?