trinacriabob

Is that it? This guy uses large planes in his fleet as phallic extensions?

I will get back to you with lots of detail but I will make one comment (they do not drive on the left, they drive on the right side). Another thing, one can have Italian heritage, but if you are assimilated to the states (and you more so being in the Midwest) you will be treated like an American. With me, I speak the language but I look "American" to them and any slight hint that the Italian is tarnished with the slightest Anglo inflection will cause them to treat you like an American. No, they have no problem with Americans. I know you will have fun...it will be a blast and make for memories of a lifetime. I know that U of Ill. exchanged with Versailles (Paris) and nobody regretted going. All reports were great (I didn't go because I wanted to finish early). Let me get back to you on all this stuff.

Lake Placid (hey, P, nice coral colored shirt in that Av)

Correct about Asian carriers....I am sure San Francisco - Hong Kong or LA - Tokyo can benefit from it. Maybe a NY-London route, as well. Actually, I have heard that ORD and ATL don't want the plane. They don't expect as many A380 flights as the others and don't want to gear up for it. Cool. No Americans are buying the A380. In fact, even Air Canada has ordered Boeing wide-bodies for their fleet upgrades. Still, that makes me wonder how 747 upgrades would fare if domestic purchasers were the limited audience.

mouthwash

Yep - too much work can lead to depression. I really feel great when I get 7 to 8 hours of good sleep, which is rare.Yep - not interested in kids ... don't dislike them, just don't want them. I like DOGS. Yep - suburbia is fine....very fine. Square footage, newer construction that doesn't smell musty and a lower decibel level. If being cool means living in-town, then I'd rather not be cool.

Bianca

You are obviously Canadian from the kilometers thing. Well, my 92 Regal 3800 Series I has almost 375,000 kms which is 231,000 miles (I have 228,000 miles). I don't know the condition of that one you refere to...if there's no rust, then that's cool...however, what's the point of adding engines, trannies, etc...you don't know what kind of shape they are in. Now, Mr. Goodwrench offers the remanufactured engines/transmissions for the old cars. However, I have priced it and it is expensive. That's why I say that we need to baby cars, making them last a long time and getting to the stage where they become throw-aways.

The Sears Tower, at 1,454 ft., is taller than either of the WTC towers which rose to 1,350 ft.

I think it looks like crap. It's neither cohesive nor well-proportioned. I respect leaving the footprints of the previous towers alone. It will look like a jumbled p.o.s. as you approach the city from the Staten Island ferry or an ocean liner returning to NY.Whatever. As far as the event, we can NEVER let our guard down. It was never in our psyche before. Now, I think we live with this in the back of our heads. I am hoping that there is enough in place to keep this from happening on our soil. I hope that others take the steps to keep it from happening on their soil. These are the ultimate cowards...they probably couldn't accomplish anything else of value. Killing people going to work and minding their own business (who aren't even of the demographic you are angry at) is indicative of how weak they really are.

disbelief

I prefer to be called Bob or Robert...but that's cool. I'll PM you on this, since it's a little more involved.

SOBE drink

Sometimes we're bitter at the past...but the saying "today is the first day of the rest of your life" really is true. Glad to hear she's ok...and I suppose driving a Volvo mitigated the potential problems.

egg foo yung (sp?)

overdrive

Architecture is a weird field, with people running the gamut from artsy-fartsy design types who aren't technically proficient to people who should have been engineers or construction managers. I don't back down very easily and, because you are constantly challenged and confronted, this field has given me a stronger personality....you can't let a contractor walk on you, or they will. But I think I had a strong personality to begin with. I have become a little bitter from being in this field and don't plan to stay in it for the long haul. I had a previous occupation and am planning to return to it. It suits my extroverted side better. Architecture is better suited for introverts with a lot of patience for painstakingly long hours and detailed work. I was an introvert as a teenager and, by the time I left college, I was an extrovert. In fact, when I was in H.S. and took an assessment test for career aptitude, my highest score was for architecture. Then, 10 years later (after college), my aptitude for architecture, according to the numbers on aptitude tests was very low, probably because my personality was no longer suited for it. But I still went back to grad school and went into it anyway.

OK....and Flybry can correct me as necessary.... the 100 series (small hump, 3 windows) took the skies for the first time in 1969 and went into commercial service with Pan Am being the lauch customer. the 200 series (small hump, continuous windows upstairs) came out a few years later, with the bulk of the orders coming in between 1976 and 1982, I think. They sold 2 to 3 times as many of these than they did the 100-series. the 300 series (extended upper deck, no winglets) came out a few years later. Not as long lived because the 400 series eclipsed it the 400 series (extended upper deck, winglets) took to the skies on its test flight in February 1989 with Northwest Airlines being the launch customer. This has been the most prevalent and the best of the lot. Fuel economy is up, as is power...200 series engines put out 41,000 lbs. of thrust whereas the 400 series engines put out 56,000 to 58,000 lbs. of thrust. The number of controls has been drastically reduced from the 100 and 200 series. It's also the best looking of the 747 family. They are planning slightly bigger -500 and -600 models in response to the A380, thus using their investment in the development of this plane rather than a from-scratch effort like the A380. God, I love this plane. And, I agree, I think the A380 is interesting but it is TOO big, TOO heavy and TOO ugly.

shootout

I go to one of those brushless type car washes...yes, with a COUPON. I just don't have the time to do the washes myself anymore. However, when it comes to the biennial wax job and chrome polish, etc., I do that myself.

The first one is funny....hysterically funny. I remember that, just in idle mode, the engines were blowing the grass next to the runway flat while we were taxing in Munich for the 12 hour trip to San Francisco aboard Lufthansa. The ones of the Alitalia 747 at Los Angeles and the United 747 at San Francisco are...well....orgasms! I could sit at the airport all day watching '47s take off...and, on a few occasions, I have.

hit man

Seattle

How fast does it run or how long do Acela trips take?They have been contemplating LA-SD or Portland-Seattle with high speed trains, but they are not there yet. Currently, the fastest Portland-Seattle is 3:30 minutes which is about 40 minutes longer than driving with no traffic and 1 urination pit stop. Not fast enough. Also, I just priced it at $ 44 whereas United was $ 89 for the airborne hop.

dismal