Robert Hall

Aspen has it's sights, but it a bit too touristy...same problem w/ Telluride. I've been to both several times, they have their charm. I really like Silverton--much more remote and islolated, less touristy. Crested Butte is a neat ski town, very remote also. Astoria, Oregon and Seaside, Oregon seemed pretty nice to me, the weekend I spent in the area. I'm partial to Marathon, Florida and other Florida Keys small towns, having grown up there. Sugarcreek, Ohio is neat, a bit kitschy w/ the faux Swiss architecture (like some place in Michigan I've been and also Vail has some of that also-- but Vail is much higher end), but it's in a beautiful part of Amish Ohio, rolling hills and wide green valleys. I don't recall the names of the towns, but some little towns in the Lake George area north of Saratoga Springs, NY seemed to have some charm...was up there from Albany for a weekend in '01.

I can't imagine Americans buying Buick hatchbacks here...I would assume this will be only in sedan form w/ an automatic.

One of my closest friends from college was in Berlin when the wall fell, he was born in the US to German-born parents. He said it was a very special time to be in Berlin.

My Jeep got broken into when I was at a movie a couple years ago. They stole my iPod cassette adapter and 2 Foo Fighters CDs which I made the mistake of leaving out in the open...the white cord must have attracted the lowlifes. Broke out the driver's window. Did your Sony have a removable faceplate? I always took the faceplate off of the Sony units in my Mustang and Bronco when they sat outside years ago.

Sorry to hear that. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. I didn't know there was a Pittsburgh in KS. Then again, I've never been through KS. Like your new avatar.

In Phoenix, I have an independent mechanic shop (been awarded the BBB best in the city several times) about a mile away that I go to for everything. Battery, radiator, patch tire, oil change, etc. When I was in Denver, I had a Goodyear tire dealer across the street, went there for tires and shocks, went to Brakes Plus for brakes, went to buddy Ajith's shop for everything else. When I was in Colorado Springs, I took my Jeep to the dealer for most service, since it was still new then and under warranty.

And of course, the center of the universe for software and hardware technology is in the Bay Area also...with feeder schools of Stanford and Berkeley and immigrants from all over the US and the world coming to SF and the Silicon Valley for it's established companies and startups, and all the VC financing on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. I've had the opportunity several times over the last 15 years to move to San Jose/Sunnyvale/etc but for one reason or another, haven't.

Do eskimos dream of moving to the suburbs and buying Priuses?

Happy Birthday!

My one Windows machine I still use has Vista, still works fine after 15 months. Don't see a need to upgrade it.

Very cool... I've never lived in LA, but have always had an affinity for it, it's architecture, and its history from the myriad movies, TV shows, and books I've read over the years. As far as theatres and other venues, I've been to a few concerts in the LA area---at the Hollywood Bowl, Gibson Amphitheatre (Universal City), and a couple on the Santa Monica pier (stumbled on a great free concert there about 5 years ago---Clarence Clemons and his band). I'll have to drive over some weekend this fall or winter and do some LA stuff--eat at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, etc. My 2010 could involve So Cal more than AZ, if my sister takes a gig in El Segundo she interviewed for this week...and I may land a gig in Irvine w/ some friends after my current contract in Chandler, AZ ends.

Surround sound cranked up loud listening to Pink Floyd The Wall. I can't help it, I love Comfortably Numb. Gilmy rocks. Love the cool fall weather, did some grilling...just had some delicious grilled pork w/ couscous and on my 3rd glass of pinot grigio. Party on... Rob

freedom fries (I actually heard a woman say this in a non-ironic way the other day)

Nah, just being accurate. For me, it's CB's eyes and face..great face and figure.

+1 on Catherine Bell..I've read she's Iranian, born in the UK.

Sounds like fun. My family's farm in Ohio was in a 1978 NBC TV miniseries, posting as a 19th century Amish house and barn.

She's in CSI New York now and is from Akron Ohio! Another really striking Greek woman is in CSI Miami--Sofia Milos--Greek-Italian, was in a memorable episode of the Sopranos.

Hmm..Allyssa Milano obsession...been there, done that...I remember as a kid having a thing for Eric Gray in 'Buck Rodgers in the 21st Century', the blonde on Facts of Life, Lauren Tewes (sp?)--the blonde on 'The Love Boat' (I swear my first GF in jr high looked like a younger version of her), the first female cop on 'ChiPs' (brunette), and a TV movie actress w/ the most incredible eyes--Lisa Eilbacher (anyone remember her from the late '70s-early '80s)? She was in 'Beverly Hills Cop'.

Nah, it's the 101 Loop around Phoenix..the Price Freeway section in Chandler.

About the tall bodies, it's amazing how high the top edge of the decklid of many of today's cars are...the top of the trunk of a typical current sedan (like the CTS) looks to be about 2 feet higher than a sedan from 30-40 years ago.. I know part of it is the larger diameter tires of today, but the bodies seem to have gotten narrower and taller in general in the last decade or so..

IIRC, light rail in Denver runs until midnight also... of course, Friday and Saturday nights were/are about the only time I ever stay up that late, since I get up at 5:30 during the week to get encube by 7:30.

That's one of things I miss about living downtown like I did for a while in Denver or when I was living in a college town (Ann Arbor, Kent). I had some of that also when I was in the Denver burbs (Greenwood Village). I'd drive less than 5 min to the light rail station and head downtown for the evening for a baseball game, hockey game, concert, restaurants, bookstores, etc. Very convenient. To do any thing fun in the Phoenix metro requires plenty of driving...

I assume some of it is tapering for aerodynamics...and they look narrow because the bodies of most sedans today are relatively tall relative to their width.

Yeah, been out to LA and Orange County maybe 10 times over the last 15 years...I usually stay in Santa Monica....I've stayed w/ a friend's wife's parents in Rancho Palos Verdes before, beautiful area there. Been to San Diego to the beaches almost as many times.

A buddy of mine that lives in the Denver burbs now used to work in Aliso Viejo and live in Laguna Nigel. I've never been to Disneyland and Anaheim...about the only places I've been in Orange County are Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Laguna Beach, San Clemente... From what I've read, Compton up in LA sounds like it would be a charming area to live.